


Eridanus

by lavendercumulus



Series: Constellation's Shift [2]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: May Someday Have Canon-Typical Violence, Plotty, Post-Canon, Trans Female Character, Trans Link, Trans Male Character, slight gender disphoria
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-22
Updated: 2019-12-17
Packaged: 2020-01-23 17:14:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 23,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18554206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lavendercumulus/pseuds/lavendercumulus
Summary: “We have lived over one hundred years, far longer than any Hylian has and ought to be alive. I would like to propose a new philosophy for our new partnership.”“Lady Link, will you join me in the covenant of our new ideology? I christen us the ardent followers of the creed: No Bullshit.” Zelda said in her most regal satire.“May it be written on my tomb,” Link grinned.





	1. Dawn

Link dug her heels into her horse’s sides, screaming as the beam of dirty red light cut across Hyrule. Heat roared over Link as she pleaded once again with her exhausted muscles to push just a little longer.

She could feel in her heart that she almost died fighting Ganon’s earlier form. As the cinders blowing through Hyrule Castle burned her throat and eyes, Link’s legs would shake. She had known full well that she hadn’t slept in over a day and that the food she kept pulling out of her pack could never be enough to truly replenish her. She was exhausted even before facing the terrible spidery monster that she had forced into its true form. As she crashed through the field her body cried out for rest in every second.

 Link cocked the bow with no hesitation, even as her arms burned. “And I’ll have my rest,” she grunted as she let the arrow fly into the great pig’s belly.

 The beast cried out, finally bowing to the ground. As Link repositioned, she saw a great eye open on it’s back. Of all the terrible things that Link had seen and fought, the eye somehow was the worst. It radiated sadness, anger, and malice in a way that Link could never explain, but would never forget.

 “That is the core of Ganon’s being! Do what you must, Link” Zelda said. Another line of fire lit the burned Hylian sky. Link felt as though Zelda was flying beside her as she leapt from her horse on the updraft.

 Time slowed as she approached the eye of hatred. Waves of heat fell upon her, and, inexplicably, Link felt an overwhelming shame in the mix of rage and ill will. It was almost too much to draw her bow.

 “Now Link!” Zelda said from just beside her.

 Time snapped back and Link fired. Her aim was true.

 She landed near her horse after spotting a drop of white light fly from the beast’s head. She needed to get back in position for the next attack, and rushed to remount.

 Link turned around as the injured form of Ganon gave a final great howl, collapsing. A flash of unbelievably bright light engulfed Hyrule field, causing Link’s horse to buck. And then just as quickly as it had appeared, the light was gone. As was Calamity Ganon.

 In the middle of the field, stood a figure that Link had only seen in her sporadicly returning memories. She held herself stiffly, as though the act of banishing an ancient demon spirit was not difficult, but standing was. Link dismounted, and approached slowly, not really believing her eyes. The figure turned.

 “Hello Link, Hero of Hyrule. I’ve been-”

 Link’s horse, feeling emboldened with a new sense of safety, let out an enormous fart.

 They looked at each other for a moment before Link started laughing. Zelda stared at her with wide unbelieving eyes before joining in. They both fell to the ground, laughing hysterically. In the silence that nature had fallen into as Calamity Ganon took its final form and its final fall, the sound carried far. A fox who had investigated the sudden quiet startled and ran back into a stand of trees. Little did it know that the world was now safer than it had been in one hundred years.

 In the future to come, the field would fill again with animals, plants, and eventually people. The castle would be roused of any remaining threats, and likely rebuilt. There would be difficult choices, danger, and conflict, much sooner than anyone in the realm would like.

 But for now, any problems were far away. The world seemed to be holding its breath, content to sit back and watch two Hylians laughing in a field.


	2. First Steps

They camped that night near the Sanidan Park Ruins. Zelda was giddy, she reminded Link of the great fairies.

“I’m so excited to sleep, I don’t even know if I can. It just, hasn’t been a thing. Goddess, fire is so beautiful, and the smell of earth. Remind me never to battle evil for a hundred years again,” she said collapsing in bliss in the grass.

Link handed her a roasted apple, “Careful, they’re hot. The fish will be done soon too, and the skewers. Be careful, I’m not sure how much food your body can take.”

“I want to eat the world,” Zelda growled. 

Link chuckled, warmed by the fire and by the return of her friend. This was something that felt different from the patchwork of memories she had gathered. It felt better, more honest.

Once Zelda had wound down, skipping through the field, singing, and chasing butterflies, they patched together sleeping rolls from Link’s supplies. The stars shone brightly in the Hylian sky. Link watched familiar constellations move across the night. Without the Calamity, the night sky was so much brighter and new freckles of light appeared in each familiar constellation. 

Just as Link was slipping away into sleep, Zelda spoke again.

“Is everything different now? I… I know that almost everyone has passed away, and… I’m just going to think about that later, but… what about the realm itself?”

Link froze. She had been so worried about this moment.

She swallowed and said, “Zelda, I don’t know because… I don’t remember.”

The restless crickets were happy to fill the silence.

“I honestly thought that might be the case. You seem different, you talk more.” Zeld laughed darkly, “Plus you were so happy to see me when we defeated Calamity Ganon, and you were never all that happy to see me in the past...”

“Hold on,” Link interrupted, now fully awake, and rolling to meet Zelda’s eyes in the moonlight. “I do remember some things, they’ve just been coming back in bits and pieces. I know for certain that I always liked you, we just both got saddled with some super heavy shit.”

Link pushed her hair back and continued, “You maybe took it out on me, but don’t think I didn’t take it out on you. I could have fucking talked about my feelings, and cleared up a bunch of confusion, but as far as I could tell back then I would rather just hide from them and keep them bottled up until I couldn’t speak at all anymore. Who the hell did I think I was helping.”

Tears ran down Link’s face as she fell into quiet. Zelda slid over and put her arms around her shoulder. Link had a feeling this was not something that had ever happened before. She knew her old self would have frozen, would have pulled away. But she was not that person anymore. 

Link sighed and snuggled into Zelda’s shoulder. “I didn’t even tell you who I was. I didn’t tell anyone, I just kept it to myself. Because I thought that the world was more important, that I was unimportant.”

Zelda tugged Link into her arms, snotty face into her shoulder. She was distracted for a second as she realized she forgot how small Link was.

“You’re not unimportant, Link. Even if you weren’t the hero. You would have done great things, and you will do great things.” Zelda sighed. “Though, I couldn’t tell you what they might be. I have no idea where we go from here. The obvious idea is to rebuild the kingdom, but to be honest, I haven’t actually been in Hyrule for so long I don’t even know how it functions anymore.” 

Zelda pulled Link from her shoulder so that they were looking eye to eye.

“There is one thing I do know though. You are never to be treated as a servant soldier again. I swear, whatever we do next, we’ll do as a team and we’ll do it as equals if,” her voice cracked, “If you’ll have me.”

Link sniffled and muttered something.

“What was that,” Zelda asked.

Link lifted her head. “I said we could be truffle hunters for a while.”

There was a moment where they both stared at each other and burst into laughter. Because why the hell couldn’t they be truffle hunters? They’d fulfilled their destinies at seventeen (plus or minus one hundred) and again the night sky seemed warmer than Link had seen yet in all her adventures.

They were settling down again when Link felt the confession bubbling up in her chest. She sighed, remembering how she had sworn to live out the courage that supposedly was her birthright.

“When I woke up in that cave, I couldn’t remember almost anything. Not who I was, not how the world worked, I think that I might have forgotten my name if you hadn’t reached out to me as I was waking. There was really only one thing I knew right off the bat. And, I don’t want it to come up too late so I’m sorry for the shock but, I’m a girl.”

Link had been staring at her hands in her lap, wringing her callouses together. There was a cut she hadn’t noticed before, when had that happened?

When she looked up, Zelda was staring into the night with a terrible mess of a smile.

“Ahh. You don’t remember. A hundred years ago, you knew you were a girl as well. You had told Mipha years before, and… me as you were dying.”

Link felt terrible. “I sincerely hope I never get that memory back.”

They both sat for a minute, wrestling the ghosts of the past.

Zelda turned to Link.

“We have lived over one hundred years, far longer than any Hylians ought to be alive. I would like to propose a new philosophy for our new partnership.”

Link smiled coyly, amused at what an orator Zelda could be when riled up. She stood up at Link’s grinning encouragement.

“Lady Link, will you join me in the covenant of our new ideology? I christen us the ardent followers of the creed: No Bullshit.” Zelda said in her most regal satire.

“May it be written on my tomb,” Link grinned.

“Arise Lady Link, purveyor of No Bullshit, Champion of Hyrule.”

Link leapt up, grabbing Zelda and spinning her in the air, as their laughter diffused into the quiet night.

As they flopped back down on the grass, Zelda sighed contentedly. Link watched her eyes sparkle in the dying fire as she said, “I am so glad to be in the world again.”

The crickets cackled their agreement as the friends drifted into well deserved slumber.


	3. Back to Life

The next morning, Link woke up to the familiar feeling of warming dew on her face. She glanced at the rising sun. It was about the time she usually started back on the road, five or six in the morning. A little further up on the hill, Zelda sat watching the sunrise. She was shivering slightly. Link walked over, putting a cloak on her shoulders.

They watched as the world began to wake anew until Link touched Zelda’s arm, and went to saddle the horse.

The ride to Hateno village wasn’t particularly long, but the Hylians’ exhaustion was beginning to catch up with them.

“I suppose I should have known I’d lose my riding seat fighting evil for a hundred years,” Zelda said, cracking her back.

The last part of the journey through the woods surrounding Hateno put Link on her guard. She had rescued some travelers from Bokoblins in the area just a week before. In the distant trees, movement drew Link’s eyes. A red bokoblin tottered out, eating a mushroom. Link pulled out her bow and pulled the string taut. The bokoblin saw her, but instead of rushing forward in fury, it squeaked and ran into the forest.

Before Link could consider the creature’s strange reaction, a cheer tore through the air. Link and Zelda turned to the top of the hill, where the entire town stood at the gateway, lead by Purah. Link’s ears lowered and reddened.

“I was hoping we could just lay low for a few weeks before anyone figured out who we were. You need time to recover,” Link whispered to Zelda.

Zelda rolled her eyes. “I’m not the one who stormed a poisoned castle and fought a guardian-spider-pig demon. I’ll be fine, Link.”

She winked and turned to wave at the villagers. Link glowered slightly before sighing and slowing down the horse to approach Purah.

Zelda grinned at her old friend, “Now I thought you’d probably be alive when I woke up, Purah, but I figured you might have had the mind of a child in your old age, not the body.”

“Good to see your sass has survived intact, princess,” Purah said, hopping into a coy pose, “And as to that ribbing, you and I both know that science has its risks.”

Link and Zelda dismounted as the villagers gathered to meet their long lost ruler. Link made a beeline for Bolson, the hero forgotten momentarily out of curiosity about the princess.

“Bolson! I need a favor,” Link said once she had moved out of the crowd.

He cocked an eyebrow, “Oh yes? Some interior decorating help now that you’ll be hosting royalty? Not to say that a house full of swords isn’t an aesthetic, but I can’t imagine that to be what her majesty is used to.”

Link snorted, “She’s been living inside a cocoon with a demon for a century, I don’t think she’ll care about aesthetic! What I need is to make sure that villagers aren’t bothering her at all hours, can you set up a guard to make sure of that?”

Bolson considered, and his face softened. “Well… I can’t offer my men for free, that would be their decision, but I’ll see what I can do. At very least I can offer my own services tonight. Seems as though everyone in the world should owe you both a debt for defeating the Calamity.”

“Which I guarantee will be forgotten as soon as I make my first act as queen,” said Zelda, grabbing both of their shoulders from behind. She made a bizarre face saying, “the queen paved the road to Lurelin village with pebble. She’s the worst queen we’ve ever had.”

“Well it does rain so much that pebble would wash away,” Link said.

“See? Critics abound already!”

Bolson seemed slightly at a loss before saying, “Your highness, you’re nothing like what I thought you would be.”

He smiled coyly and winked.

“And I’m one hundred percent here for it.”

Link glanced back at the crowd, where it appeared that Princess Zelda was nodding along to something one of the Hateno gossip queens was emphatically telling her. Link looked back to the real Zelda, who looked a little sheepish.

“Can’t particularly remember that gift of the Goddess,” Link said.

“Believe it or not… I learned a few things about magic from Ganon in that nightmare room,” Zelda said frowning. Link looked at her blankly, and she shrugged. “Mostly through terribly painful experience, but occasionally through actual collaboration.” Her face darkened further.

“We actually really need to talk Link. There are things you need to know about the Calamity so we can ensure it never happens again.”

“The most important being, Ganon was once a man.”


	4. Catch Up

The village threw a huge celebratory dinner, followed by an evening of dancing, drinking, and celebration. Link thoroughly enjoyed the rich dinner, but Zelda’s newly awakened digestion meant that they ended up weaving their way up to Link’s house fairly early in the evening. Bolson followed to his usual tree, and set up camp as quickly and efficiently as he did everything.

Link made Zelda a light poultry soup, and they sat in the moonlight, the sounds of the village revelries wafting on the warm summer air. Lightning bugs flickered lazily, and Link felt no inclination to catch them. She felt warm and full to the brim, and a little buzzy from the half of a noble pursuit she had managed to drink before Purah stole it from her. Seeing child-Purah down the rest of the drink and wink maliciously before twirling back into the night had put her completely off getting another. Now Link lay back in the grass to watch the sky turn purple to black.

Zelda lay back in the grass as well. They sat in silence for a while, Link drifting in and out of sleep. She woke up as crickets started to chirp, and glanced over at Zelda. Link pondered how Zelda seemed like a different person than the one she remembered. The Zelda in Link’s memories was sad, frustrated and even cruel out of a feeling of inadequacy. The Zelda she had fought Ganon and journeyed with was calm, direct, and confident. Link hadn’t realized the change until now.

As suddenly as always, a memory came back to Link. They are in a field, staring at the stars, horses tied to a nearby tree. Link has started to feel that she knows her past chronology just by how Zelda looks at her. So, post-Yiga attack, pre-Ganon’s return.

Pre-frog experiment for that matter. In Link’s memories, Zelda is so much easier to read.

They both wear green hats, and Zelda seems a little out of breath from laughing.

“I don’t think we learned very much from that journey, but I certainly had a good time. Perhaps these maps will be good for something, but I significantly doubt Tingle’s skills as a cartographer.”

Link smiles at her.

“I have always had fond feelings towards the Hero of Time as well. So sad that his fairy left him once their adventure was done. I wonder what the rest of his life was like.”

She turns to Link in that uncertain way that seems to have died in the catacombs of Hyrule Castle.

“What will you do if… I mean when we have defeated Ganon? Your sacred duty and term as a soldier will have finished. Will you go live with Mipha? Stay at the castle?”

Link’s grin dies. A nameless dread fills her memory self’s chest. In the moment, she knew that her past self hadn’t wanted to think about a future beyond defeating Ganon, that the scenario of living life without duty or obligation was more terrifying than facing down an incarnation of pure evil. 

No wonder she had fallen so quickly in that battle.

“It doesn’t matter,” her voice rasps out, thick with disuse and deeper than she is used to hearing it.

Zelda’s face falls, and she looks so sad. Link realized now that this wasn’t disappointment, like she had thought in the moment.

“Shit, Link. Of course it matters. What else are we fighting for if not a future beyond the final battle.”

The memory fades out as Zelda starts to say, “If you do ever need to tell anyone something, you know, just get it off your chest…”

Link came back to herself with a gasp. Zelda was staring at her intently. The sky had turned pitch black with a peppering of stars.

“Bad dreams?” Zelda asked.

Link shook her head, and looked again to the summer stars. The stars reminded her of that hundred year rest, and of waking up as a fresh new person.

“Just memories.”

The day after the party, an undeniable exhaustion came over Link and Zelda. They somehow made it into the house and, after a brief argument, both climbed in Link’s rarely used bed. When Link awoke far into the morning, she pulled the blinds shut, snuggled into Zelda’s hair and promptly fell back asleep.

Their stomachs woke them up that evening. Blearily, Link wandered out to her cooking pot with an armful of ingredients. She paused to give Karson a thumbs up, where he stood at the sign in front of her house before starting up a hearty stew. 

They ate and fell back asleep. This continued for the next day and the next.

On the fourth day, Zelda had about enough, and if she really was being honest, Link had too. They ventured into town to visit Purah. No sooner had they set foot in the village proper than they were swamped with villagers.

“Your highness, if I may offer a tour of our fine village,”

“Princess! I have another request once you have taken the castle”

“LINK! Can you show me the master sword again?”

Link was glad to not have to focus on the barrage of the adult villagers. She had always found children’s demands much less frustrating.

After what seemed like an eternity, they made it up the hill. A few persistent villagers had started the walk up with them, but Purah threw open the door with a maniacal laugh and the last few slunk back to the village.

“I see that our heroes have emerged from their deep slumber at last! Come in, I’ve just finished prepping for Oolong…” said Purah.

“What a gorgeous little lab, Purah, though it certainly is smaller than what you had at the castle. You’ve had to scrape by, haven’t you.” Zelda said.

“Oh I hardly remember my lab from the good old days, I stuff those memories as far back as I can, I’m too old for nostalgia now. Nothing for it but to keep pressing forward! Speaking of which, I’ve sent word to Impa though I’m sure she’s realized that the Calamity was defeated. A visit to Kakariko Village should be next on your docket, Impa is not blessed with the same youthful mobility that I have been. Through science… which LINK KNOWS BECAUSE SHE’S THE NOSIEST HYLIAN ALIVE!”

Link startled away from the experiment she’d been leaning over. Purah pulled a curtain around a large pile of guardian bits and pieces.

“Stay with us child. I swear, you have no ability to behave yourself indoors,” Purah scolded.

Link’s ears turned red but she returned to the table where Zelda was smirking and pouring tea.

“I’m assuming you came here first to get your bearing, Zelda, and because you love me better than Impa obviously, but I’ll try and give you a brief overview of what has changed in the past one hundred years.”

“I could never choose between my two Shekiah mothers of course,” Zelda drawled, “but I would really appreciate a good catching up, and perhaps any cultural differences that you think I might not realize.”

“It’s fine, you don’t have to lie, I know I’m your favorite.” Purah preened.

Link rolled her eyes, at least Impa was to the point. Zelda just smiled indulgently.

“Right then! We suffered unbelievable casualties in the first Calamity attack. You of course know of the destruction of so many towns, the valiant efforts of the soldiers, the souls that were immediately lost when Hyrule castle was overtaken by Ganon.”

“Impa ferreted Link away to the resurrection chamber. You hid the master sword in its ancient and sacred home, and Robbie and I saved as much non-corrupted ancient tech as we could. We all kept moving, but it wasn’t until the battle had ended and you and the beast were locked in the castle that we realized what we lost.”

“There’s no real sugar coating our losses. Your father was grievously wounded saving the students at the Castle Town School. After guiding them to safety, he wandered, we know now, to the Temple of Time to meet his fate.”

“That’s how he would have wanted to go, I suppose. To perform his great heroism and then save anyone from watching him die.” Zelda said, staring into the distance blankly.

Purah glanced at her, but plowed on when she saw no other response.

“The guardians all fought against the blights that attacked and claimed their lives. Until the champion reawakened, they were each locked in a stalemate with the Ganon Blights, much as you were with the Calamity itself. They each gave a magical gift to Link, which I think you still have, Link?

“Not sure… Here, throw something at me.”

Without hesitation, Zelda threw a teaspoon at her head. Link crossed her arms and Daruk’s protection filled the air, jettisoning the spoon into the back wall where it dug itself into the drywall.

“I guess that’s a yes. Also, you owe me a spoon.” Purah said rolling her eyes. 

Symin opened the door from the backroom, “Is everyone alright? I heard an explosion?”

“Yes, just gathering more data to support my hypothesis that ‘inside’ and ‘manners’ are in portions of Link’s memory that we are never getting back.”

“Jeez, sorry. I’ll get you another spoon. You don’t need to be a jerk about it,” Link said, blushing profusely.

“I liked that spoon. It had painted cuccos up at the top of the handle, which will now be forever sticking out of my back wall,” Purah growled.

“So now we know that the gifts of the guardians are still with Link. Sort of strange, I would have thought they would depart at this point, I felt their spirits leaving this plane for the next,” Zelda mused, pacing and ignoring the chaos around her. She spun around to Link.

“You know what this means, don’t you?”

“No?” Link said, bewilderingly being held up by the collar by Purah who was standing on the table.

“The gifts of the Goddesses remain with us. I noticed that my triforce is still active as well. We must need these tools to rebuild the Hyrule. Speaking of which, Purah, put the Champion of Hyrule down and tell me what happened to the larger kingdom.”

After begrudgingly letting go of Link, Purah detailed of how most Hylian communities shattered in the Calamity, except Hateno, and that the Shekiah retreated to Kakariko to recover, as they have done in emergencies for millenia. The Gorons, Gerudo, Rito, and Zora were able to save their own kingdoms, but suffered cataclysmic weather and geological events many times over the past hundred years. 

Purah looked out the window darkly as she explained that the Hylians had never rebuilt anything to rival the Hylian kingdom, even though there had been generations since the destruction of the kingdom.

“They just couldn’t get any infrastructure set up without central leadership. As a Shekiah, who, of course votes on leaders democratically, it’s been particularly frustrating to watch these Hylians build almost nothing without a monarch.”

“If I choose to return to power, do you think they will accept me, Purah?” Zelda asked.

Purah looked thoughtful. “I have not seen as much of the world in these past twenty years as I once, did. I think Link would better answer that question.”

“I think the Hylians would,” Link said. “Like Purah said, they’re scattered in tiny communities. They’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain really. It’s the other kingdoms of Hyrule that I’m not sure enough. I think they’ve been doing pretty well, all things considered.”

“That makes sense. I will need to travel, speak to everyone in the realm again then formulate a plan.”

Link and Zelda returned to the house that evening weary with planning. The result had been a grand tour that, at some point, Zelda would need to take to remeet her kingdom.

“To be honest I’m not in any hurry though,” she told Link over roasted staminoka bass.

Link eyed her thoughtfully over a huge mouthful.

“Zelda, remember no bullshit?” Link asked. “You don’t have to be the princess anymore, or queen I guess. I don’t think anyone would think any less of you if you didn’t, you know. Go back to it.”

Zelda waved her hand in acknowledgement with a mouthful of buttery fish.

“It’s true,” she said after swallowing, “but other then all of the unending praying, I actually liked being princess. I liked getting to know my subjects, and the land. It was a satisfying challenge to keep everything running and everyone more or less happy.”

“However, I want to take a very long break before doing anything. Just, take some time to see the world without walking waist deep into frozen rivers at every Goddess shrine we come across.”

“Let’s go fishing tomorrow.” Link said.

Zelda grinned at Link and laughed. Karson startled at the noise from sitting watch, and waved when he realized all was well.


	5. First Swim

Link dreamed of Mipha. It started like a memory, of a younger Link and Mipha walking side by side above a river. They are chatting about nothing of importance, of Sidon’s latest antic, of the knight’s training at the castle. Link is struck by how Mipha pauses so that the other Link will fill the space. This is a technique that Link uses often. She imagines that is one of the innumerable things that Mipha taught her. Link falls into the trap, even as a practically silent youth, haltingly painting pictures of life at the castle for her friend.

The dream changed as rain started to fall, and suddenly Link was aboard the Divine Beast Ruta. The ghost of Mipha was piloting and Link’s heart began to pound in her ears, even in the dream.

Once she was aboard, Mipha seemed more and more solid. Still, it was a shock when she reached out and touched LInk’s shoulder.

“I know you are wondering, and yes, it is me,” Mipha said with the tiny smile that you could miss if you blinked.

“We have moved on in spirit, but our gifts are here with you Link, so I can visit occasionally by leaping off your memories.”

“I wish you would as much as you can, I barely remember you Mipha,” Link said, smiling.

Mipha turned away from Link, “Which is partially my fault. I… I didn’t want you to suffer any more than you needed to Link. Until we had finished our duties and defeated Ganon. So, I intentionally held back your memories of me, my dear Link. I realized now, watching from the spirit world, your body isn’t the only thing that needs to heal Link. And so I cannot in good conscience keep holding them back.”

Link took Mipha’s hand. The Zora turned to find Link’s smiling face.

“I understand,” Link said, “I am ready whenever you are.”

Mipha looked shocked, but then smiled again with warmth that reached all the way to her yellow eyes.

Suddenly, Link was a child again. She is sitting behind her father (her father! He is tall and looks almost nothing like Link except for his nose and deep blue eyes) upon a large horse. They are crossing the bridge into Zora’s Domain when a flash of red catches Link’s eye. She turns to see a young Zora peaking through the railing of the bridge. Their eyes meet and the Zora disappears with a squeak and a splash. The next bit of the journey is a blur of childish recollections: the fur of her father’s horse, the sound of water, the overwhelming grandeur of seeing King Dorephran for the first time. The memory snaps back into focus as the King’s booming voice introduces a young Mipha, still wet from her dive, and blushing furiously.

She curtsies and Link begins to curtsy as well before catching the glare of her father and quickly bowing instead.

“Well children, you may go now as your fathers have much to discuss!” King Donephran says with great warmth.

They wander off together, both too shy to say anything. Soon, they are sitting by the lower sleeping pools.

“I didn’t… I mean, I’m not a snoop!” Mipha says suddenly. “I just, had never seen a Hylian child before, and I couldn’t... wait.”

“That’s okay!” child Link says smiling (and oh, this is her voice as a child. So much light, so quiet but so happy), “I had only seen a Zora child once, or else I probably couldn’t have waited either! Would you like to play?”

Link sees her turn, seemingly in shock at what Link had said, and a huge smile forms across her tiny Zora face.

“We can play Jabu Jabu’s Lair! C’mon!”

The memory faded as she watched Mipha sprint up the glowing stairs.

Back on the elephant again, Mipha and Link were leaning against a railing.

“I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that we were friends immediately,” Link says.

“Birds of a feather, I suppose. Or rather fish in a school…” Mipha said in her quiet deadpan voice.

Link chuckled. “Thank you for giving this back to me, Mipha. Even if that was the only memory, I feel so lucky to have it again.”

Mipha sighed, “The others won’t be quite that easy to see Link. You and I kept many secrets for each other.”

“Were we…” Link started and trailed off. Perhaps this was too soon to ask?

Mipha looked stonily ahead. “You will have to recover your own feelings for yourself Link. As for me, the armour that you carry has one meaning and one meaning only.”

“... I… I’m sorry Mipha,” Link stuttered, “I’m sorry that I couldn’t be… more, or what you needed, or-”

“My dear Link, what we needed was more time. Who knows what route our lives would have taken had the Calamity never come. Perhaps we would have been beautiful queens of the Zora together, or perhaps you would have grown discontent with Hyrule and left for another realm, or perhaps that Lynel on the mountain would finally make good on its promise to kill us both. What has happened has happened. There is no changing the river of time, it can only flow and change itself.”

“I will return these memories to you, not to make you suffer Link, but because you must know them to heal. You need to know that I loved you, with all of my heart, and that my lifetime is over. There is only love for all people in the realm of the dead. I am at peace, finally after one hundred years.”

“But you, you must keep going. Your task is not done and the world needs you, as a whole champion, not one healed only of body and not of mind. So look to the past, but only as a guide to live in the present. Know that I loved you, and regardless of your feelings, I am gone.”

“Do not cry… just remember.”

Link woke with a start, tears streaming down her face. She carefully got out of bed without waking Zelda, and spent the rest of the night staring at the Lightscale Trident where it hung on her wall, softly glowing in the moonlight.


	6. Monstrous Zoology

After a few more days of leisure, Link’s wanderlust was acting up, and the villagers had started encroaching more and more on Zelda’s time. It was time to face Kakariko.

The two had hypothesized at length about the strange bokoblin behavior, and they were both happily distracted by looking out for malevolent wildlife on the trip to Kakariko. What little there was seemed content to continue a quiet existence in the woods, bolting as soon as Link raised her sword. Until they came across a moblin, which was quickly despatched.

Zelda pondered as Link plundered the potion materials from the body.

“Before the calamity, we rarely heard about bokoblins or lizolfos, it really was just the spare moblin that would steal a few livestock or threaten a village. I don’t even recall hinox except as legends in inaccessible mountains. The Yiga were our main adversaries…”

Link is hit with a memory.

“It’s guarding the valley.” Zelda whispers, laying low to the ground with Link at her side.

They are looking over a cliff where a far off Lynel wanders in among wild horses.

“Where the lynel tread, heroes join the dead,” quoted Link, gruffly, pulling away from the edge. Zelda follows, laughing lightly.

“Only you would have memorized Pyzo’s Encyclopedae of Monsters, Link. It’s pretty obvious that we ought to stay away just from looking at the-”

At that moment an electric arrow hits a nearby tree and both Link and Zelda sprint away as fast as possible as the memory fades away.

Link returns from the vision to find Zelda holding her firmly by the shoulders and searching her face.

“Another memory?” she asks.

“Yeah,” Link says blinking, “I’ve been getting more of them.”

“That makes sense, I’m probably a psychological trigger,” Zelda said letting Link go with a pat. Link guiltily realized she hadn’t told Zelda about Mipha visiting in her dreams. There was a lot to unpack there, but in good time she absolutely would tell her…

“Do you think there are any books on monster behavior in the castle?” Link asked. She couldn’t remember where the library was at the old castle and didn’t recall passing through in her panicked rush to meet the Calamity.

“It’s about time that we took a look in that old ruin anyways. Time to face the facts.” Zelda said, groaning. She turned slightly to look into the distance, unaware of Link still watching her.

Zelda looked so despairing for a second, imaginary alarm bells started ringing in Link’s ears. The moment quickly passed, so quickly that Link almost thought she imagined it.

“At the very least, I want to make a study of how the flora and fauna are reacting to the malice free land, see how long we can expect for the recovery of Hyrule field.” Zelda said, with her usual smirking smile.

Link smiled back, but she was worried about that flash. She knew a thing or two about despair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started writing this story because I wanted to get back into the habit of writing fiction, which I literally haven't done in years and years. What a crazy surprise to find that other people are into it?? Thanks so much for reading, it's amazing what just getting a kudos or comment does for a person exploring writing again.
> 
> I'm trying to update every week-ish, though I missed last week so I'll be putting up another chapter in the next few days. The next few chunks will get into some lore stuff I'm mapping out myself, so obviously I'm agonizing over it, editing a ton, and generally working myself into a frenzy!
> 
> Thanks again for reading!


	7. Welcome Party

The entry to Kakariko was about as different as possible from Hateno. The city was deserted as they entered. Doors left open, cuccos wandering the streets. Zelda and Link were on high alert, shield and bow at the ready as they dismounted and walked to Impa’s house. The guards were gone.

As Link and Zelda started walking up the stairs, a bell rang and a voice boomed out.

“To the brave spirits who enter Kakariko Village. Our village awaits a legendary hero, and a legendary leader. Complete the challenge and you will be allowed entrance.”

All too familiar fog rushed up to meet the duo. 

They found themselves in a shrine-like space. Link looked to the left to see large round rocks rolling down a hill, and right to what looked like a giant chess board.

“I see Impa still has a few tricks up her sleeve,” Zelda said grinning. “I can guess which side is made for me. Shall I meet you post boulder run?”

Link had downed a swiftness elixir before Zelda finished speaking.

After sliding back to the bottom of the shrine a few times, Link realized that the slope was variable. This meant that the rate of the rocks falling was somewhat variable as well as her potential speed and ability to not slip. She threw a well timed stasis spell and finally made it to the upper platform.

“What, no treasure?” Link said to the air. She swore it felt like the room laughed with her for a moment.

Link hopped down from her platform to where Zelda was waiting by an orb on a pedestal, obviously a quick victor at her game.

“It’s been a while since I last did this, I have a stitch in my side,” Link huffed.

Zelda laughed, flush and triumphant. They turned to the pedestal. As they both reached out to take the orb, they were in fog again, and found themselves touching the doorknob of Impa’s home. They opened the door.

The entire village of Kakariko was in the main room of Impa’s house, sitting cross legged. They looked as though they were just finishing a meditation, but Link assumed they had been creating the shrine space together.

Zelda ran through the crowd of sitting Shekiah and threw her arms around Impa. Impa laughed joyfully and returned the hug.

“My dear Zelda, I assumed I would not see you again in this lifetime.” 

“I thought the same,” Zelda said, weeping.

Once they had collected themselves, Impa and Zelda stood side by side and Impa announced, “There is much cause for celebration as this is the day we have all been waiting for for a century. The Calamity is defeated, and our princess has returned to us.”

The entire village raised a collective cheer, and Link smiled. This was more like what she had been expecting.

Kakariko had always been a sleepy town when Link visited before, but she was realizing that a lot was going to be different without the Calamity.

And with Zelda.

Link could tell that Zelda felt much more at home in Kakariko than in Hateno. After all, the Shekiah prided themselves on preserving their culture, so Link guessed very little had changed in one hundred years.

After placing apples at the frog shrines (and saying hello to the Korok that lived there), Kakariko got to celebrating the end of an age. The rest of the afternoon was spent finding materials for a bonfire and prepping the traditional dishes that accompanied a true Shekiah celebration. With Impa and Zelda deep in conversation, Koko and Link set about chopping mountains of ingredients. It was quickly decided that, while they might not be the most knowledgeable cooks in the village, they had the most knife skills and energy.

“Is the princess your wife?” Koko asked as they were slicing fleet lotus root to be fried.

“No,” Link replied. “She’s like my sister, like you and Cottla. We take care of each other.”

“Oh,” Koko said thoughtfully. She stopped chopping and stared at the table.

“Does that mean that your mother is in heaven too? Like Koko and Cottla?”

Link looked at Koko before putting a hand on her shoulder. This was something she had never had time to do before, but had thought about a lot on her journey.

Kneeling down to look Koko in the eye Link said, “It does. A great many people Zelda and I know, including both of our mothers are in the spirit world. I’ve lost a lot of my memories, so I don’t remember everyone from back then, I don’t remember much about my mother. But I know that she loves me and is watching out for me. And that our friends who are still on Farore’s green earth love Zelda and me as well. And you and Cottla are just like Zelda and me, Koko. You are loved by people both here and in the next world. Okay?”

Koko stared at the floor, but she nodded and pulled Link into a hug as response.


	8. A Real Rager

They carried the masses of food down at sunset to the bonfire. In the golden light, Link savored the spoils of their work. She particularly liked Sheikah cooking, it was all about balance and left you feeling refreshed but not heavy. Good food for fighters.

Zelda was in rare form. Link figured she finally felt at home. She was open and smiling, sharing ridiculous gossip to keep Link giggling the whole meal.

At the end of the meal, Paya left for a secret cache of Tocal. 

“I can’t remember the last time I had Tocal,” Zelda whispered to Link excitedly.

“Me neither… literally. What is it?” Link asked.

“I think we must have had it at the last celebration of the Spirits before the Calamity. Mipha and you ran off halfway through the meal leaving me to babysit Revali. It’s similar to alcohol in that it alters the senses. Tradition says that it give you visions of the divine.”

“Can I have some?” Cottla asked, suddenly at Zelda’s feet beneath the table.

“Absolutely not,” Zelda frowned at her. “It is only for adults, also how long have you been under there?”

Cottla scurried away, leaving Link snickering. 

Link is a little hesitant to take the Tocal. After Zelda takes a deep sip, though, she figures why not. The divine will find her anyways if something is important enough.

The next part of the evening, as the bonfire grew to the sky, would last until dawn. Link’s vision became blurry at the corners as different members of the tribe told the story of the creation of the world, of Din’s red earth, and Nayru’s logic and order, of Farore’s early creatures. In the mix of dancing, singing, and recitation, a narrative of Hyrule began to form. Link was fixated, if she had learned this history before, it was certainly gone now.

It surprised her to hear that the Goddess Hylia’s enemy wasn’t Ganon, but a demon called Demise. She was struck by how the world changed drastically, for all that the narrative seemed to stay the same: the triforce bearers met time and again, and Wisdom and Courage vanquished Power. The entire world might flood or civilization move to the skies, but the conflict stayed the same. Link supposed perhaps it was something like the seasons, inevitable in it’s loops.

In the small hours of the morning, she voiced this thought to Zelda.

Zelda frowned. “It… will take a long time to explain, and lord knows I’m too tired now, but that’s not always how it is Link. The other stories just don’t get passed down.”

“Huh. Why would that be?” Link muttered, staring at the dancing.

Zelda tugged her friend’s long ear affectionately.

“For someone who has apparently run errands for everyone in the world, you sometimes have a funny idea of how people work.”

In the darkest part of the night, before dawn, it was Zelda and Link’s turn to join the pageantry. While Link knew that it was necessary for the ritual to have each of them add their story to the dance she wasn’t looking forward to it. Unsurprisingly, the best advice she got came during meal prep from Koko.

“Just play pretend you are a dancer. The other people have to play pretend that they’re the hero, for you it’s just the other way.”

She took her place with a gulp of the Tocal that had become mandatory at this point.

Paya was playing Demise/Ganon at this point, her usual timidness replaced with ferocity under the costume of cloth and wire. The red rubies in her mask seemed to burn in the bonfire light. As the story continued, she moved her arms faster and faster until it seemed like she had grown multiple limbs. Link, forgetting herself, had grabbed her fake sword before realizing that more villagers were standing in the costume, creating the spider form of Calamity Ganon. She circled the monster, ready to dance her fight.

Following Koko’s instructions, Link rolled, twirled and leaped around the imitation monster. Paya cried in convincing anguish as Link mimicked shooting arrows and slicing with her toy sword. Each time, a villager flew out of the costume, the monster became smaller and smaller. Paya gave a great cry and threw herself to the ground. 

At this point, Zelda entered the dance, holding a lit candle. She moved slowly but gracefully encircling both Link and Paya before raising the candle over her head.

“O beast of Desert and Demise, your days of blood are over. We have fought for a century and I know your secrets. I know the reasons why you have brought Calamity and Dread to Hyrule. O Ganon, what a fool you were to make a deal with a demon. O Demise a fool you were to deal with mortals. By the power of the Goddess Hylia, go and rest in the earth.” 

Zelda clapped her hand against the candle and for a second it lit up so brightly that it looked like day. 

In the sudden clarity, Link saw the shocked faces of the village at the sudden light. Except for Impa. She was smiling with a steely ferocity that Link’s heart knew she hadn’t seen in one hundred years.


	9. Unfortunately Unforgettable

The next day, Zelda walked up above the village while the rest slept. Lack of sleep aside, today was as good of a day as any. Love her as she may, Impa would not let last night’s performance rest unquestioned.

She sat on a rock, and thought back to the worst day of her life.

Initially, she created a barrier, finally feeling the surrounding of Hylia’s power. Blight continued to stream out, but she chased most of it inside Castle Town.

She walked into the city, which was acrid and burning, littered haphazardly with corpses of the townsfolk, many of whom she had known her whole life. They were quickly turning into redeads, misshapen, bursting with red light. Tears streaming from her eyes, Zelda reached out her hands and pushed her will into the air.

“Let them rest easy.” She spoke clearly.

And they did.

The adrenaline surge of confidence that had pushed Zelda up to this point was wearing thin as she walked through the now deserted streets of Castle town. It felt like days, not hours, since she had seen her knight fall, since she realized the guardians had not activated. The redeads had made something suddenly become concrete in her. A fierce panic and dangerous grief threatened to overtake her.

There is a certain intelligence, if not wisdom in worry. A clarity to see what could go wrong, how delicate life is, how easily corrupted or ended streaks of luck can be. An awareness of the limitless depth of pain that a body can experience, that the world can offer.

Zelda felt certain in that moment that her friends were dead, and yet still in danger to be slaves forever to the decay and destruction of her kingdom. Her only choice was to sacrifice herself to free their souls.

Still though, it was with unmitigated terror, not resignment that she entered what had been the throne room of Hyrule Castle. Zelda was not given the gift of bravery.

She was brave anyway.

A viscous darkness had filled the chamber, so little light came through, she could not see the throne itself. She entered, feeling Goddess power and anxiety coarse through her fluttering heart. The gloom lightened, and she found herself in a quiet room. But not empty.

Only the sound of her boots splashing in the shallow water echoed in the chamber as Zelda approached the small island. The tree there rustled slightly, silently in an unfelt breeze. 

Time appeared to stop passing. She walked to the edges of the enclosure, looking for any type of exit, but there seemed to be none. Feeling at a loss, she walked back towards the island. She stopped suddenly, the hair standing up on the back of her neck.

A figure was there.

From the outline of the body, it looked like her, the same dirty braid, same combat armor, but the only other detail in the ash were glowing red eyes. Zelda clutched the Light Bow tightly, but as she approached, the Dark Zelda stared, unmoving. Then a voice boomed out in the cavern.

“Why have you come?”

Zelda faltered then steadied, “To save Hyrule, to seal the darkness.”

The red eyes bored into her. Zelda felt insidious fingers at the corners of her mind.

“No. Why have you come?”

“For my friends, for those who I love.”

“No. Why have you come?” The fingers continued to scrabble for purchase, like ants crawling on her soul.

Zelda had enough. She pushed the fingers from her mind, burning them away with goddess light.

“I have come because I can. I choose and I choose my doom over the world’s doom.”

How the figure could smile without a mouth haunted Zelda for the first decade of battle.

“Then you will understand why,” the figure said, melting into the floor of the chamber.

A door appeared on the edge of the chamber. While the figure was gone, it’s presence was still all around her.

She walked to the door. 

Beyond lay a dark room. On the floor, she saw a large dark figure, collapsed. Above a huge orange fire burned, seemingly feeding off of nothing. Although the fire was large, dangerously large, it barely illuminated the room.

The dark figure rolled to face her, as though the effort of moving took tremendous strength. Copper eyes opened and found her own.

“Then you will understand why,” The figure echoed before going limp again.

The fire seemed to crackle with fierce laughter before rushing towards her. Zelda instinctively crossed her arms, a diamond of Goddess protection sending the flames around her body, but she forgot to protect her mind.

As the flames dissipated, she collapsed to the floor beside the already fallen figure.

And so Zelda’s one hundred years of torture began.


	10. The Facts

They sat in the back room of Impa’s house. Link had collected Symin, Purah, and a reluctant Robbie to hear Zelda. She wished there was something that she could fight, a helpless Link was a nervous Link. However, for the time being, the only monsters were in Zelda’s head.

“I won’t mince words today, as it brings me great pain to talk of my time at the castle. The Calamity was an abomination, the confluence of a demon’s plan and a man’s despair.” Zelda started when everyone had settled in. 

“Over the last hundred years, generally I fought both the ancient human spirit Ganon Dragmire of the Gerudo as well as the eternal demon Demise. While my body was in stasis for this time, I could not fight constantly like the demon could. As the last of my strength was leaving me, I was spelled in the battle by my ancestors, the princesses awoken by the triforce.”

“In addition to fighting the monsters, my mothers stayed with me providing companionship, counsel, and an unprecedented view of the history of Hyrule. I had the pleasure of meeting my ancestor who lived in Twilight, the pirate queen, and, oddly enough, the three who aided the hero of time. And consequently the princess who sealed the timeline rift. By the end of my time holding back the darkness of the Calamity, I had met so many of my ancestors, and realized there was a surprising lack of coherency in the stories of their lives.”

There was a murmur among the Shekiah assembled. Impa’s eyes narrowed.

“I heard of examples littered through time, of courageous strong leaders, of tempered generals, of powerful wizards who died holding back avalanches so that children could escape.”

“Occasionally there would be corrupted heroes, not necessarily powerful, but powerful enough in that they would. not. stop. I even met a few princesses who had followed a different path, and only in death regretted the choices they made that damaged their kingdoms almost to the point of destruction.”

“Evil does not only visit the triforce of power. Nor does it always visit it.”

Zelda paused to let the collected people mull over her statement. To say Link was shocked would be an understatement. It hadn’t necessarily been her belief that people were inherently good or bad, but the only power triforce bearer she had heard of had either been a foreboding threat or actively trying to kill her for her entire life.

And the idea of a courage bearer going evil? The thought had never crossed her mind of doing anything other than her very best for those around her. It was one part of her identity that she had never questioned for a second. She figured that would be the same for all the other reincarnations of the hero.

“Would you consent to writing down these histories? We will need to incorporate them. As keepers of Hyrule’s memory, it is important that we know as much as possible,” Impa said, breaking through the silence.

Link saw a slight relaxation in Zelda’s posture. She was relieved that Impa believed her.

“Of course. I will bring writing materials on our journey and collect the stories when we make camp.” she replied.

“This is well and good, and I like a good story as much as the next Shekiah,” Robbie burst out, “but I’m a weapons engineer and I want to arm us for the next battle before I kick the bucket. What can you tell us about fighting the Calamity?”

Zelda flinched and Link unconsciously rose to her feet moving in between Robbie and Zelda, hand on her hilt.

“Sit down Link,” Zelda said, sighing and tugging on her boot. Link did so blushing furiously at committing such a faux pas, but still desperate to protect her princess. She bowed her head to the floor in apology.

“Honestly Robbie, I don’t think I’m ready to talk about what happened to me yet. But I feel like I can say with pretty high confidence that we will not be facing another Calamity in our lifetimes. That incarnation of Ganon is truly dead, soul shredded and body vaporized. If there is a strike of evil again in the land, it will come from a different direction.”

Robbie leaned back, scowling and folding his arms. “It’s hard to build weapons that can strike in all directions, your highness.”

She smiled, “How would you feel about building infrastructure instead of weapons Robbie? There’s a castle sitting out there that could use a lot of gadgets.”

Robbie slowly smiled as well, “you know, I suppose I could make a late career change. Always wanted to have a real look at that drawbridge.”

The questions proceeded for a few more hours. Link couldn’t believe that the whole village had stayed up the whole night before, they didn’t act tired at all questioning and scheming with Zelda. Link was also used to sleeping sporadically, but she saw Zelda start to pale after a few hours of constant talk. She looked at Impa, to try and signal that Zelda needed a break, but Impa only looked at her in confusion, while still strategizing over potential crop planting in Hyrule Field. Link sighed and turned to Purah, who grinned, understanding instantly.

“Alright nerds, time to call it a day. We don’t want to kill our queen with bureaucracy so soon, let her warm up to it.”

To Link’s amusement, Impa flushed in understanding, then looked guiltily at the wavering Zelda. Link wished she could remember more of what the two Shekiah were like as young people. It must have been hilarious.

Zelda laughed, color returning to her face, “I suppose the excitement is starting to catch up with me. How lucky is Hyrule to have so many geniuses willing to tirelessly plan her fate.”

“That’s one way of putting it,” Robbie grumbled, from the map he was pouring over.


	11. Rapids

Link and Zelda were getting used to sleeping apart, but that night they pushed their small beds together at the inn, close enough that they could hold hands if needed.

A familiar scene met Link as she fell into dreams. Mipha ran down the hallway, Link close behind. Black curtains of seaweed shrouded Zoras Domain, mourning colors for the queen. Link had returned with her parents to Zora’s domain, not for her father’s work, but at special behest of King Dorephan.

“We are so desolate at loosing Queen Whyle, I feel more than ever Mipha needs her dear friend Link at her side,” the King said softly in the great hall.

Link thought the seaweed smelled like wild flowers.

They clattered to a halt outside the pond where most of the Zoras in the domain were collected. King Dorephan leaned into the pool, his hands cradling the small translucent egg that was thrashing under the water.

“That’s your brother?” Link asked as they ran towards the pool.

“Hush,” Mipha said, grabbing his hands as they wove through scaley knees and ankles.

“Children!” King Dorephan smiled when he saw them. “You must come watch, he is about to break out of the egg to meet us for the first time.”

Link hid slightly behind Mipha, the writhing inside the egg sac was slightly frightening. Were Hylians born this way?

“As Zoras, we are warriors as soon as we break through our shell. By the time we first fill our gills, we have already met adversity and overcome it. I can tell, he will be a strong warrior, just like you Mipha.” the King smiled, adding, “And just like you Link.”

Link felt warmth fill her body. She was a strong warrior, the same as Mipha? She corrected her posture and puffed up her chest (and over a hundred years later, chuckled fondly at herself).

Finally, a slit ripped in the tiny egg. Everyone was enraptured as a scarlet hand clawed through the membrane, and the small Zora emerged.

Dorephan lifted his child out of the water, and Sidon cried out before noticing his father. Sidon stared in wonder before an enormous toothy smile spilled out of his face. 

“Hello Sidon, welcome to the world,” Dorephan said in a low voice. His smile as not as big as Sidon’s, but his eyes told another story.

“Mipha, this is your brother Sidon.”

“Hello Sidon,” Mipha said, almost shyly reaching out a hand to touch the baby’s arm. He turned his enormous smile to her and Link. Link felt her heart drop. This baby was very important to young Link. Maybe the most important thing she had ever seen.

The scene went fuzzy for a moment, and they were at a great feast. Link was sitting next to Mipha, but she reached over to touch the King’s arm. He turned and smiled at her.

“King Dorephan, can Sidon be my brother too?” she heard herself ask. One of the older zoras nearby made a grumbling noise.

The king chuckled. “He won’t be your biological brother, Link, but it is possible to be brothers with someone who is not your kin. Will you act as a brother to Sidon, love him and take care of him like a brother would?”

Link solemnly nodded her head.

“Then yes, Sidon is your brother as well,” the king said, smiling.

The ghost of Mipha and Link walked away down the hallway.

“Your memories of Sidon will filter back through the next days, Link. I am loosening your memories around this time and earlier as well. I imagine your childhood will be fully returned soon.”

“Thank you so much Mipha. Even just this memory… I can’t believe I get to have it back,” Link said.

Mipha smiled. “It was our only true competition as children, I think. Who loved Sidon more? It’s a small wonder that he didn’t grow up to be a spoiled eel with all that we gave to him.”

“Sidon is far too good to possibly be spoiled.” said Link.

Mipha laughed, “Agreed!”

Little splashes of memory came to Link as the Hylians walked in companionable silence the next morning. Flashes of red, as Link, Mipha and Sidon grew up together, playing games, staring at the clouds, swimming together. She also started to remember the training grounds at Hyrule castle, seeing a young Zelda, imperiously carrying stacks of books while Link’s father drilled the soldiers in the courtyard below. Smells of baking bread started to fill her senses when-

“Link!” Zelda spun as Link cried out and fell to the ground. “Link, what’s wrong?”

She crouched down, putting an arm around Link, who had her head in her hands. They sat there for a breath, until Link could look up, tears streaming down her face.

“I remember my mother,” she said, smiling through the tears.

They made camp there, and spent the rest of the day talking about people long gone, but no longer forgotten.


	12. Energetic Rhino Beetle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> very slight gender/body dysphoria. It's fairly gentle, but if you want to avoid it, skip from * to * aka: "*Link is quickly assessed his injury..." to "*By this point Zelda had dug through Link’s pack..."

Soft rain woke Link and Zelda the next morning. Link found a Zelda-sized cloak in the back corner of her bag. It was just as well that Zelda take it, the cloak had always been too big for Link.

They walked for a few hours through the rolling hills when Link’s ears pricked forward at the sound of a cruel laugh caught on the wind. She sprinted as she drew the Master Sword, glowing blue in the rain, Zelda close behind, bow drawn.

Over the crest of the hill, Link spotted a familiar toppled backpack, and her heart dropped to her feet. Just beyond, a Yiga- oh Goddess- blademaster was spinning around Beedle. Beedle’s fists were raised as he hopped lightly from foot to foot, and to Link’s surprise, he seemed to anticipate the blademaster’s next move, punching his opponent in the jaw before ducking away. However, her blood roared in her ears as the next time the blademaster winked out of existence, Beedle had fallen to the ground with a cry, hand to his chest.

Link fell into a true sprint, as Zelda stopped and cocked her bow. She got one arrow in the blademaster’s shoulder before Link crashed into them, landing a fatal blow on contact. Link ignored the burst of bananas and rupees, diving to the fallen vendor’s side.

“Beedle! Beedle, are you alright?” Link said frantically as she fell to the earth.

“Link? I can’t believe it, it is you? Unless you’re an angel here to take me to the afterlife, which, I mean, figures I’d die right after the Calamity is beat and I finally make enough sales to buy a new pack…”

*Link is quickly assessed his injury, which appeared fairly shallow. It did ruin his binder though.

“I’m going to have to cut through the rest of your shirt to dress this,” Link said, “Is that okay? I know you don’t really want anyone to see…”

“Link, it’s fine,” Beedle said, reaching up for her hand. “I trust you. Besides, the only person who I have a problem with seeing what’s under that shirt is me.”

*By this point Zelda had dug through Link’s pack to find a fairy elixir and bandages. Beedle noticed her as Link was slicing through the last of his binder.

“You sure you’re not angels?” Beedle asked, winking as Link gave him the rest of the potion to drink after pouring some on the wound.

“We’d make a pretty terrible pair of angels, very few wings between the two of us,” Zelda joked, calm while Link frantically wrapped Beedle’s torso.. Beedle chuckled despite the uncomfortable bandaging that was taking place.

“I’m Zelda, pleased to meet you.”

“The Zelda?”

“As far as I know” Zelda winked.

“Well fabulous! I was wondering when our dear Link was finally going to introduce us.”

Link finished the dressing, and went to search her pack for some kind of a shirt for Beedle. Her heart had slowed down somewhat but she still was in no position to joke yet. If they hadn’t gotten there in time... She found a blocky red shirt that she thought would fit.

“To be honest, I usually don’t find the Yiga Clan to be that much trouble!” Beedle was explaining while Link gingerly pulled the shirt over his head. “I can usually out box the ones with sickles, and outrun the others. This one just wouldn’t quit though, and I just got a new shipment from my supplier, so my pack is so heavy.”

Zelda lifted the pack, “Wait you carry this all over Hyrule? It’s as heavy as a Goron!”

Beedle smirked a little, then winced in pain. “I suppose I just got used to it eventually. Someday I’ll get a magical pack like Link here, and then watch out world!”

Riverside wasn’t too far of a walk, but the pack would have torn open Beedle’s wound, so Link carried it. As the horse head structure grew larger in the distance, her thighs burned with the additional weight.

“No wonder you have such amazing legs,” she muttered to herself under her breath. She thought she was talking quietly, but Beedle blushed slightly, and Zelda gave Link an appraising look behind her back.

The trio fell into the stable exhausted. By some miracle there were three beds open, which Link set about purchasing despite Beedle’s protestation.

“Link, you absolutely don’t have to do this, I’m completely used to sleeping on the floor. I just don’t feel it’s right, you just saved my life, for me to accept this is… it just doesn’t seem right!” Beedle said from where he sat on the floor, grabbing Link’s hands and looking up at her pleadingly.

“Beedle, it’s a gift, I don’t mind at all, please… please just take the bed. You need to recover.” Link mumbled, flushing furiously.

Zelda now smirked unabashedly in the background. 

Link, reveling in the new knowledge that her cooking skill came from her mother, crafted a huge stew, Beedle pulled out a loaf of bread from his pack, and they settled in with the locals at the stable. Princess and merchant hit it off, but that didn’t surprise Link. Zelda was nothing if not a nerd, and Beedle in so many ways was the king of nerds.

At another table, a man was quickly drinking himself into confidence, much to the disdain of the older women near him. He reached the tipping point and sauntered over to where the trio sat.

“Gentlemen, m’lady” he said in a lopsided bow before gracelessly plopping next to Link. Zelda’s look of sheer distaste almost stopped the sudden pang of hurt and rush of adrenaline that rushed through Link at being misgendered.

“What a night huh, it’s as though love is in the air! My name’s Kohnba.”

“I suppose you might know our names,” Zelda drawled, glaring daggers at the intruder.

Kohnba laughed throwing his arm around Link’s shoulders. Link stiffened visibly and Zelda scowled even further.

“Well of course princess! You’re famous across the land! Sleeping beauty, waiting for a hero to rescue her. Sure wish I could have been that hero. Wonder who it was.”

Beedle had gone from open mouthed shock to actively stifling laughter as Kohnba leaned more onto Link’s shoulder.

“Say, you need a king to go along with that throne, don’t cha?” He gave Zelda an obvious up and down, and did this man have any sense of self preservation?

“Doing fine so far, thanks.”

“What is a queen without a king though! It gets so cold and drafty in castles, loneliness is the real enemy of a princess. I suppose being damsel in distress kept captive all those years, you’re probably into the adventurous stuff. What do you say, we find some rope so I can tie you up while…”

Just as Link and Beedle leapt to their feet, the man was cut off mid-word. He opened his mouth a few times as though he was trying to say something, but not even the sound of air came out.

“You are done speaking.” Zelda said, her eyes dull and deadly despite the flickering campfire.

The man gawked at her and suddenly fear finally cut through the haze of alcohol. He scrambled away out of sight of the trio, silently.

“Zelda, is he done speaking umm... forever?” Link asked in a strangled voice.

She blinked, and the atmosphere lightened somewhat. “I suppose that is a good point.” She snapped. “Now it will wear off at sunrise.”

For a minute, the flames were the only thing that moved.

“WOW,” Beedle breathed, hands clasped together in delight, eyes shining in admiration. “You’re even scarier than Link.”

Zelda sputtered out a laugh, which Beedle joined in immediately. Link joined in, still feeling the aftermath of unspent fighting energy. Despite the long day, they talked late into the night, Zelda seeming to relax. Beedle was so animated, Link thought he almost sparkled in the campfire. She could not have been more grateful for such cheeriness to fight away the rage and gloom Kohnba had brought to their table. And if the knowing, triumphant glances Zelda kept throwing at Link were any indication, Zelda had noticed Link noticing Beedle. Link sighed, knowing that would probably be all she heard about as they made their way to Hyrule castle the next morning.

Ah, well it was worth it to see Zelda cheery again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! I was a little hesitant to post this one, obscure/odd ships aren't everyone's cup of tea, and I'm not sure at this point if this is a Link/Beedle fic or not! At very least, my Link thinks Beedle is amazing as the only other trans person she knows of, as the first person to accept Link entirely (as the hero, as someone who lost their memories, as trans), and as someone that Link thinks is absolutely nailing it in general. So we'll see! 
> 
> Thanks for all the lovely comments, it's amazing what just one nice comment can do for an writer's motivation! I'm guessing we'll end this one around 20 chapters, but there's more percolating in my head, so there may be at least one more story in this series.


	13. Check Up

After Link was sure Zelda was truly asleep, she crept to Beedle’s side. Beedle turned, obviously having trouble getting comfortable laying down. He smiled.

“Fancy seeing you here!” Beedle said softly.

“It’s almost as though I’m your stalker or something,” Link whispered back.

“As stalkers go, ones that save your life, fix your wounds, and spoil you rotten aren’t so bad,” Beedle said winking. He reached out and squeezed Link’s hand. She grasped tightly searching his face.

“You’re really alright? This isn’t just a brave front?”

“No silly, I imagine I’ll be better by tomorrow. Your fairy potion did wonders, as did your healing.”

Link blushed slightly, “I’m pretty sure it was the fairy potion, not me. Do you have another binder? I can probably get one quicker from your supplier if you need me to.”

“Ha, no I have another one,” Beedle said, looking away uncomfortably. “Wish I didn’t care so much, I’m very envious of you Link, that you don’t mind your body. I think I’d be happiest just to be rid of them. Both the binders and the breasts.”

Link squeezed Beedle’s hand back.

“Sorry,” she whispered, resting her head on the side of the bed.

Beedle patted her head.

“Not your fault hero,” he chuckled fondly. “I know if you could fix it you would. You’re kind of amazing that way.”

Link blushed again. For being “married to Hyrule” Beedle said really nice things.

“We’re leaving in the morning unless you need any more help. We’ll be digging around in the castle for quite a while, I’m guessing. Come by if you want to,” she said.

“Go on, I’m just fine. I wouldn’t doubt I’m fully healed already! Once I finish this route, I’ll swing by to see if you’re there. You wouldn’t believe how much rest I can take now that it’s safe to pass through Hyrule Field.”

Link frowned, her eyebrows knitting together. “I don’t know how safe it really is with the Yiga clan. I’m going to find a good weapon for you, we’ll train the next time we meet. A light spear, maybe a Rito one…”

Beedle sighed. This was a conversation they’d had many times.

“Link, alright, I’m in no condition or position to fight you on this today. But only if it’s a light weapon. My pack is heavy enough.”

“Jeez, I know!” Link said, cracking her neck. “I’m not sure how I’m going to walk tomorrow!”

A nearby traveller grumbled in their sleep.

“It’s late, I should let you rest. Goodnight Beedle,” Link said in a whisper.

“Goodnight my hero,” Beedle echoed.

Link clambered into bed, quickly falling into a well deserved sleep, but Beedle stared at the tent ceiling for some time before closing his eyes. It was always complicated with the Hero of the Wild.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's tiny, but I swear, there's a couple big-ol-change-everything chapters coming up. Just have to get them edited.


	14. The Library

The Hylian sun rose over the field where just weeks before catastrophe had been defeated. Small birds had begun to nest in an extinct guardian. They hopped around, gorging themselves on grasses and seeds, which had grown lavishly under its watchful eye.

They all flew to the top of the machine in shock as two Hylians flustered by them.

“Just say it,” Link said as they walked along the sunny path. “You look like you’re going to burst.”

“Aaah, but you’re the cutest thing when you have a crush, Link. I haven’t seen you that flustered in a loooooong time. And Beedle is so charming! I thought you were into the strong silent types!” Zelda said waving her arms.

Link blushed yet again. This seemed to be becoming a normal occurrence.

“Firstly, it’s not exactly a crush. Beedle was the first person I met in Hyrule that when I explained who I actually was, just accepted it. Everything! The Triforce bearer stuff, the gender stuff, all of it! So I got a little... confused, and it just, it’s just something I’ll have to live with. It’s just really important that he’s okay, and I think he’s a really good person.”

“You don’t think he’s into you?” Zelda asked.

“I know he isn’t, he told me,” Link sighed. “Which I get! Beedle is all business all the time, and I’m, well, not exactly the homemaking type over here.”

“Oh, I don’t know, I could see you two traveling around Hyrule together, selling moblin guts and arrows” Zelda said waving away Link’s arguments. “Just watching both of you yesterday though, I wouldn’t be so sure your feelings aren’t reciprocated, Link.”

Link rolled her eyes.

“I mean, you’re wrong, but fine.”

Zelda laughed and they continued rambling to the castle.

Link was on high alert as they approached the main entrance. Though logically she knew the building had been turned back into a harmless ruin, it still made her anxious to pass through the main gate. Another dead guardian lay motionless on its side. Link couldn’t remember if she had killed that one or not.

“I can’t say whether it’s worth trying to rehabilitate the castle or not,” Zelda said, wrinkling her nose at the scene around her. “It needed so, so many repairs even before the Calamity had it’s fun.”

They slowly made their way over the rubble. At one point a wall shifted and fell as Link pulled Zelda out of the way. At another, Link stumbled and Zelda pulled her away from the rocky hill she was about to tumble down.

“Color me impressed, princess!” Link said once the danger was passed. “You’re building strength!”

“Doing my best to keep up with The Best,” Zelda said winking.

After a few hours of searching they hadn’t found the library. On the other hand, they hadn’t been attacked by anything yet either. The Shekiah slate was proving invaluable in navigating the wreckage as both Hylians were having trouble recognizing different rooms in the rubble. Link preferred it that way, especially as Zelda seemed to have painful memories pop up when she did recognize something.

After one such moment, when Link had turned to see her staring deeply at a portrait only slightly visible beneath a sheen of ash, Link sidled up alongside.

“Who is this?” Link asked as she hugged Zelda from over her shoulder.

Zelda sighed, leaning into Link.

“I never liked this painting. The king in this painting… he was not a good ruler,” she said, steeling a little. “I don’t really want to talk about what he did, but, think more along the lines of genocide than hoarding gold. I would like to forget that he’s my ancestor, so many would like to forget that time at all. And yet, his painting survived. I can’t help but think it’s a sign. We’re not meant to forget.”

\--------

Eventually the library made an appearance.

The room was infinitely more intact than any other they had seen before. Rows and rows of books stood, barely musty, in the dusty afternoon sunlight.

“Goddesses be praised. He actually did it.” Zelda said. When Link turned, Zelda looked a little lighter than she had through the entire venture so far.

“This is what I mean when I said that the triforce of power doesn’t mean evil. For all that time, it was Ganon who protected this room. The part of the Calamity that was still a man made sure that this room was unharmed.”

“Ganon did this? The Calamity, I mean, the man? But… why?”

“Because I asked him to.” Zelda said, still smiling sadly. Link’s feelings must have made it to her face because Zelda sighed and added, “I promise will tell you everything that happened at some point Link. I really… can’t right now though. It’s still too fresh too painful.”

Link nodded, unable to speak with all the internal processing at what she had learned.

Zelda scrubbed her face then turned to Link again.

“Well! Let’s get reading!”


	15. The Mouth of the River

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Folks, this is going to be a long sad one! Consider yourself forewarned!

In her dreams, Link found herself plunging into an icy cold lake. The shock of the water delighted her and felt like a release. Her past self marveled at the dark stillness of the lake, the quiet. She wished for a moment that she was a Zora and could escape to this silent world for more than one breath.

A splash and abundance of bubbles near her announced that Mipha had made the leap as well. Link knew that the huge splash was for Link’s benefit as she’d seen Mipha dive so beautifully that the water barely rippled around her entry.

Mipha swam up to Link, grinning hugely before grabbing the Hylain and shooting out of the water. Link started laughing as soon as they broke the surface.

Some minutes later, Mipha walked out of the lake, holding Link in her arms. She unceremoniously dumped her in the soft sand around the lake.

Link laughed then coughed.

“... Was that really necessary?” she asked in a rough, deep voice.

Mipha faked an innocent expression.

“Well of course, Link, I had to prove that Zoras are as strong on land as in the water!”

They looked to be just on the edge of teenagerhood. Link assumed that she was old enough to have been training with the guards but not old enough to have joined yet. Still, she was old enough that her voice was changing, and old enough to have started shutting out the world.

But not Mipha.

After dunking herself to get the sand off, Link lay in the sun to dry off her soaking tunic. Mipha joined her. 

“You used to take your tunic off if you needed to dry it out,” Mipha said. “Why wouldn’t you do that now? I thought being wet for too long was unhealthy for Hylians.”

An unexpected (or maybe expected) roll of nausea flowed through Link. She saw her past self assume what was meant to be a more masculine position.

“In the Hylian Guard, you sometimes have to keep marching even in the rain or after crossing a river. I’m just preparing.”

“Oh, I see. That makes sense,” Mipha said, watching Link unabashedly.

They remained like that for a few minutes, Link closed off and Mipha observant.

“I learned about a special armor the other day you know. It’s mostly symbolic for Zoras, but for Hylians it actually enhances their swimming. So much so they are able to swim up waterfalls.”

Machismo forgotten Link turns to Mipha in pure excitement.

“Really? Wow, I would sure like to try it someday! To be able to swim like you would be amazing!”

Mipha’s head tail started waving slightly, the Zora’s version of a blush. Link of the past didn’t notice.

“Well, no promises of course, but I’ll see what I can do,” she said primly, tail twitching despite her best efforts.

“It would be so cool, we could have so much fun!” Link spouted, “Get this! Sidon is up on the highest pool on Shatterback and you swim up before me, oh he’ll be so surprised when I swim up afterwards…”

The memory faded as Mipha smiled and Link schemed.

Link had gone through a growth spurt by the next memory. She could see the hard angles that would replace the last of her baby fat around when she turned seventeen. Mipha, Sidon and Link were in the Domain. Mipha and Link were doing pushups. Sidon was giggling and crawling all over them.

“Sidon, why don’t you climb on Link again, he’s taller than me, so he has more muscle he needs to build.”

Sidon shrieked and launched himself onto Link. Mipha toppled over at his launch and Link at his landing. Laughing, Link stood up and tossed Sidon in the air, catching him then throwing again while Sidon screamed with excitement. Mipha’s tinkling laugh joining in suddenly filled Link’s heart with so much joy, and time seemed to slow down. She watched in slow motion as Mipha closed her eyes in laughter, scales sparkling in the sunlight. Her heart hurt suddenly, and she swallowed audibly when she caught Sidon.

A high up window opened and Muzu stuck his head out. 

“Princess Mipha, this is highly disruptive behaviour during a legislative session. I would remind you of your royal duties and ask that you keep these children quiet during the session.”

Link was furious at being called a child, but more that Muzu’s words caused Mipha to stop smiling. That was unacceptable.

“My apologies Councilman Muzu. We will keep our exercise to an appropriate noise level”

Muzu nodded, smiling at Mipha and closed the window.

“He’s so terrible,” Link said scowling.

Mipha chuckled.

“Oh, he’s just gruff, same as you Link. But Muzu is right, we were being too loud.”

Sidon looked up at his two favorite people in the world, tears brimming in his huge yellow eyes.

“I sorry,” He cried, huge tears rolling down his face. Mipha tutted and kneeled down so she could wrap Sidon in her arms.

“You have nothing to be sorry for Sidon! No need to cry. This is my fault. I’m the oldest and it’s my job to make sure we both are behaving correctly.”

“What’s my job?” Sidon asked rubbing his still streaming eyes.

“Your job is to be you!” Mipha said smiling. “And from what I know about you, that means to be wonderful and encouraging and courageous and smart.”

“You’re amazing Mipha,” Sidon said smiling, tears averted.

Mipha laughed and picked the contented Zora up. “That’s exactly what I mean, wonderful job Sidon.”

He snuggled more into her arms. Mipha looked at Link with a sweet smile. Link had been feeling distant during the whole interaction (ahh, she recalled this had been happening more and more) but Mipha’s smile brought her back.

The Link of the past, gave Mipha a hopeful smile, while the Link of the present rocked in the emotions now bathing her.

The scene faded to another. Mipha and Link sat in the fading light at the bottom of the ladder in Zora domain. Link was in knight training gear and her head was in her hands. Mipha was sitting silently, waiting for Link to speak.

She waited for quite a while.

“I can’t do this Mipha,” Link whispered, barely audible over the lapping of the water.

Only when it was apparent that was all Link was going to say, Mipha asked, “Why?”

“I’m a liar. All these things I’m supposed to be, I’m not. I’m not… a leader, or aggressive, or confident like they are.”

Mipha cocked her head to the side. 

“Link, you are the most talented warrior I’ve ever met, it’s like your body has lifetimes of practice built in it. Do those other things really matter?”

“I just… the actual jobs that knights do isn’t the problem. It’s how they act, what they expect from me outside of that. Sometimes I feel like I’m barely even a man, how could I be a knight?”

“If you aren’t a man Link, what are you?” Mipha asked, softly jokingly. The joke completely missed its mark.

“I don’t know. I’m just me.” Link said, her arms around her head, falling deeper in her gloom.

They didn’t see each other very often, Link would soon pull a sword from its stone prison and Mipha would climb into a war machine. They would have a purpose beyond themselves soon. But for now, Mipha didn’t see the Hero of Hyrule, and Link didn’t speak to the Zora Champion.

“What if you weren’t,” Mipha said cautiously after a moment.

Link made a questioning sound, raising her head from her arms. Mipha’s tail twitched.

“It’s not entirely uncommon among the Zora… what if you weren’t. Weren’t a man. How would that change your life?”

\-----------

Again, Link was sitting atop Vah Ruta With Mipha. The Zora princess was nervous again.

“Link, my time is growing short. I was trying to do this in stages so your memories would not disorient you, but I fear I will be sent back to the Realm of the Dead before there is time. Are you somewhere safe?”

“I think so Mipha, and I think I’m ready.” Link said.

Mipha shook her head fondly. “You have always been so brave, even when you are scared.”

“I’m not scared.”

“I know, my love.”

It all came so quickly. The shock of pulling the Master Sword from its stone, misguided anger at Revali, following Zelda on endless, pointless pilgrimages and hating the king for wasting their time. Another precious conversation with Mipha, one that grew a tiny seed of hope in Link’s chest, a glimpse of who she was and what they might be together. Tentative hand holding at one particular ceremony that made it feel like Link’s nerve endings would explode. The rise of Ganon, the utterly chaotic first battle and then-

No no no no no no.

Zelda and Link had been running for so long, across so much land, and so quickly. Zelda cried in Link’s arms and Link felt nothing, or only the determination to keep going, just as she had these last few days. She gathered Zelda and they continued running until, from the crest of the next hill Link saw the Divine Beast Vah Ruta.

The elephant towered over the rainy battlefield, glowing black and red like an ember. It cried out in a terrible anguished voice, one that Link had never heard before, and began attacking the Zoran troops. They looked like red ants under an elephant’s foot.

Link’s heart fell to her feet. It was unlike anything the present Link had ever experienced. Zelda was running ahead when she noticed Link staring, Master Sword trembling in her grip. She cried out when she saw the beast attacking the very people it was awoken to protect.

Mipha would never have allowed this to happen if she was alive.

“Link, we have to keep going, we don’t know what happened, I’m sure she’s fighting it!” Zelda yelled over the clamor. 

In that moment, Link was suddenly trampled by a guardian. Zelda screamed, and Link could feel her clothes and skin ripping. There was nothing for it, though, they had to run.

The terrible pain in her side matched the excruciating pain in her heart. 

This kept on like this for some time, Zelda crouching over Link, shooting arrow after arrow when she could barely walk. 

“Please Link, we can’t stop, they’ll find us!” 

Zelda’s face flashed above hers, she had messy memories of fighting, Zelda’s eyes filled to the brink with fear, an ache in her sword arm that was inconsolable. Link blacked out just as a guardian shone it’s light on Zelda’s precious head, and a beam of light shot through the darkness. She later awoke for a moment, head cradled in Zelda’s lap.

“... so you can’t die, you can’t leave me to fight this alone,” Zelda was saying, tears dripping down her face. “Hero aside, you’ve become like a brother to me-”

“Sister.” Link said weakly.

“Aah, you’re alive! We need to find you a healer now-”

“I’m your sister,” Link said, and it was true. “You can defeat the Calamity. I’ll watch you, if I can, from the Realm of the Dead.”

“NO!” Zelda cried, “you are not dying today Link. You need to help me seal the darkness, I need to find out what the hell you’re trying to tell me right now, we have to survive this and rebuild Hyrule. You can’t die Link.”

“May you be well, my sister,” Link said as darkness filled her mind. Zelda’s inconsolable crying faded into the background.

She was in the dark place again now, but she was not alone.

Mipha stood, smiling sadly.

“I’m sorry that I kept this away from you for so long Link.”

Hearing her speak after having just remembering Mipha’s death, Link’s own death-

Link fell to her knees grasping Mipha’s hands.

“I loved you, I was in love with you,” Link said, tears rolling down her face, smiling.

Mipha sighed, tension bleeding out of her body.

“I… thought so, but it is wonderful to hear it before I must go,” she said smiling, pulling Link up into a hug.

“I would have married you.” Link said into her shoulder. “Goddess, I’m so glad to know it. I was such an idiot back then, and you are so… amazing, I would have hated myself if I hadn’t loved you. If I were that stupid.”

“You were never stupid, Link. We lived in… incredibly difficult times. But now you know that there was good, that there was laughter among the fights and terrible choices and dreadful identity crises.”

Link chuckled, and looked up to Mipha, who suddenly looked radiant against the darkness. Tiny particles of light began to flow away from her body as though she was dissolving.

“Ah, my time is drawing to a close. Take care of yourself, Link. I hope you live a long happy life.”

Link kissed her hand. It felt like pure electricity under her lips. She felt Mipha’s hand move up to her cheek.

“I hope you find love again, too. You wouldn’t be disrespecting my memory if you did, you know.”

Link laugh-sobbed. “Kindness till the bitter end Mipha. You were far too good for me.”

“On the contrary,” Mipha said as her form began to fully turn to dust, “It was my pleasure.”

\------------

Zelda held an inconsolable Link close as the sun crested over the castle tower. She had ascertained that more of Link’s memories returned when Link called her sister and collapsed in her arms. It seemed a terrible amount of pain to remember, but Zelda supposed that it was better this way. 

Later that day, library plans abandoned, they lay in the grass just outside the castle.

“I did love her, I don’t even think I realized it then,” Link said. “I know… I’ll miss her for the rest of my life. It feels like I just had her back and lost her again. It hurts… more than I know what to do with.”

“As it should. I might even think less of you if it didn’t, Link,” Zelda said. “It was almost insurmountable, once I’d realized that they were lost, that you were lost.”

“Goddess, it must have been,” Link breathed. “I don’t know how you went on.”

Zelda rolled to look Link in the eye. Then she smiled. 

“It was the curiosity,” she said, winking. “I had to figure out what you meant by calling yourself my sister.”

Link snorted, “It was not. You’re an unparalleled hero, and the bravest woman I’ve ever met. That’s what kept you going.”

“Hmm,” Zelda tapped her chin, pretending to think. “Nope! It was curiosity!”

They spent the evening crying and remembering, and in the morning, Link still had moments where all she could do was try to breath, but still they started searching again.


	16. A New Rivulet

On the third day of research, they took a break on a wall in post-castle town that a tree had started growing out of. They had not found mention of a Bokoblin language in any books. Zelda claimed they hadn’t found the right section, but Link was starting to get restless. Zelda’s stomach audibly grumbled as Link pawed through her pack to find the rice balls she had made that morning.

“We should take a picture up here,” Zelda said. “The light is amazing. Maybe once we’ve established communications with the Bobokoblins, I’ll start working on creating another Shekiah slate again. Between Purah and me, I’m pretty sure we can do it.”

“I find that to be a terrifying prospect,” Link said, handing a rice ball to Zelda. She spotted a rider over Zelda’s shoulder. “Goddess, that’s the most built Gerudo I’ve ever seen!”

The rider sat poorly on the horse galloping towards them, which wasn’t a surprise since Gerudo generally only rode Sand Seals. The horse was panting from the weight and speed of its rider but they did not slow down until they reached the wall that Link and Zelda sat on.

The rider threw themselves to the ground before Link and Zelda could do anything and bowed their head to the ground.

“Queen Zelda Boliferous Hyrule and Link, Hero of the Goddess, I surrender,” the rider said in a low raspy voice.

Nothing happened. The leaves swayed in the wind, the exhausted horse snorted, and Link thought she heard the rider mutter, “shit, what now” under their breath.

Zelda eventually broke the silence.

“I’m afraid that my education in etiquette didn’t include anything about strangers riding up out of the blue and surrendering, but I’ve also decided fuck that book I’m going with my gut. Come up here, have a rice ball and tell me why you’re trying to surrender to someone you haven’t even met.”

“Oh?” said the rider, face still in the ground. An apple thumped next to their head, startling them out of the pose.

“Sorry!! That’s for your horse, she looks so tired.” Link said, eyes brimming with concern. The rider huffed before rising to their feet.

Minutes later, the three sat under the tree, the rider precariously balanced due to their huge frame. To Link and Zelda’s surprise, they were in the company of the first Voe Gerudo either of them had ever met.

“Gil, I pretty much lived in the Gerudo Town for a season, why didn’t I meet you or at least hear about you?” asked Link.

Gil nervously picked at a rice ball. “I haven’t lived there for four years, but even while I was in Town, no one paid that much attention to me. I left to study when I was sixteen and haven’t been home since then. It’s a long story, but it would explain some things if you would like to hear.”

Link took an enormous bite of apple, chomping loudly. Zelda snorted and said, “We’ve got time.”


	17. To Dam a River

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're getting into it now folks! There may be a few more long gaps between chapters, I just moved and have a lot of traveling to do in the next few months. But! Story is absolutely still going.
> 
> Thanks so much for the lovely comments and kudos! It's a total blast to know that other people enjoy this weird concept that I had in my head for so long.

At the edge of the sands of Gerudo lay a small kingdom of lizard-like people called the Grazock. In this part of the desert, the weather was blisteringly hot and dry. The Grand Library of the Grazock kingdom, the prize of the entire country, was underground, so what did it matter what happened on the surface. When he became a young man, Gil crossed the desert with permission to visit the library.

He arrived after a five day journey in the unbelievably hot desert. Despite traveling at night and camping in a solar resistant tent during the day, the heat was unbearable to him.

According to the stars and his map, Gil made it on that first night. For the first time, he felt something other than confidence about his journey. There was nothing to signify anything was here. No sign, no guard, just the same endless sand radiating endless heat even through the night.

He watered and fed his sand seal and sent him off to find a more habitable piece of desert. He pulled the letter and translucent stone pendant that should grant him access to the Grand Library. 

Sunrise was perhaps an hour away, the sky was turning orange and pink with dust. It already felt like he was in an oven being baked alive.

He sighed and placed the pendant around his neck. It bounced above his heart before suddenly turned flashed bright red. Moments later a boom rocked the desert and a crack appeared a few feet in front of him. The crack grew larger until a figure clambered out onto the sand.

They were about as tall as a Hylian, with scales like a Lizalfo. The Grazock was far less agile though, with sandy yellow skin bowed legs. Their neck was wide, with spiked scales.

The Gerudo man spoke with a raspy voice, “h’xlli, nu kxme re g’niu.”

The Grazock smiled, with appeared benevolence.

They said, in Hylian, “While I very much appreciate the effort, your G’rzoxic sounds positively archaic. You will learn, but for now, do you prefer Hylian or Gerudo.”

Gill blushed and coughed. “Gerudo please.”

“Fantastic,” the Grazock said, seamlessly switching to Gerudo, “I haven’t been able to practice Gerudo in one hundred and fifty years. It will be wonderful to update my slang. Come along into the library before you burn to death in the sun.”

They entered the hole the Grazock, whose name he discovered was Y’xlli, and came to a set of dark stairs.

“This is the submersion gallery,” Y’xlli explained. “Should there ever be another great flood, the library will return this area to its original use, bringing submersible vessels to and from the surface to our ensconced sanctuary.”

They continued down further in silence to a set of gigantic doors. As the Gerudo man went to open it, Y’xlli shook their head. They pulled a lever and the Gerudo heard clicks and pops running all around the frame. The door folded in upon itself in a way that he couldn’t quite process and they walked into the Grand Library itself for the first time.

Gil could barely keep his jaw from dropping. Floor to ceiling bookcases ran the entire length of the enormous space. It was circular, as though an enormous drill had burst its way through the earth, leaving books in its wake. He looked down over the balcony to see floor after floor of similarly lavish bookcases and laboratories, going beyond where his vision faded to darkness. A soft yellow fungus lined the wall, and wherever a Gazrock stood working, it burned as bright as the light of morning.

He had never been more excited to be anywhere in his life.

Gil man quickly settled into life in the Grand Library. For the first time in his life, he found friends who were as excited as him about an ancient manuscript or a shattered pottery slice. He became fluent in G’rzoxic as well as two extinct dialects of Hylian. The researchers spent their days and often their nights pouring over texts of ancient histories, trying to solve the ever trying question of how ancient people spent their limited existence. Gil felt unlimited. Time passed in deference to knowledge, and he had never been so happy.

Years passed.

While, a world away, Link had just laid another forgotten friend to rest in the Divine Beast Medoh, the Gerudo had started the research that he anticipated would define his academic career. Y’xlli’s team had just discovered a direct account of the World Flood, which littered their desert with sea fossils from that forgotten era. To the general dismay and avid curiosity of the library, the account was in Gerudo, even though Gerudo genes had been considered dormant during this time period, only to emerge again as genetic mutation generations later.

Gil almost cried when he first saw the account, almost perfectly like the modern Gerudo text that he had grown up reading in children’s books. He mentally praised his people both for their ridiculous meticulousness in maintaining tradition, and that, at some point, at least one other Gerudo had wanted to save their memories for future generations.

The night Gil completed his first draft of the G’rzoxic translation, he fell asleep at his desk in the Library. As any proper scholar, this was not the first time this happened. Nor was there any sign that this would begin the end of his life as a scholar.

It wasn’t unusual for Gil to fall asleep in the library while studying. What was unusual was to wake up to two men arguing over his head. One, a tall Gerudo man, even taller than Gil, was leaning against a cushion set against the wall. Gil mentally recoiled looking at him. He just looked… terrible, almost as though his essence was fraying at the edges. Looking at the other, Gil’s skin crawled. White and charcoal skin, burning hair, there was nothing this man could be but…

“A demon,” whispered Gil to himself, willing his body and pretending to keep sleeping.

The Gerudo man was speaking, “... Just wait one more generation and we can try again. I need at least fifty years to recover, maybe more. I don’t understand why you want to push this-”

“Of course you can’t, which is why we faltered in the end, foolish mortal,” the demon growled. “At this moment, they think us dead. This is a gift, a gift that cannot be set aside. The Hero and the Princess think they have won, but Hyrule is closer to becoming my kingdom than ever before. This is your chance.”

“I can’t Demise, look at me. I was alive for so long, and the Calamity took such a toll on my soul. I... The triforce has passed from me.”

So this was Ganon. Gil was cherished member of the leading research library in the world. He also knew this was no dream.

“We do not need power, that is why we have the boy. Take him! Take his vessel!”

“I have been telling you, I cannot.”

Demise flared with intensity, his halo of fire hair roaring in all directions, “IT HAS NEVER BEEN A PROBLEM TO GAIN CONTROL OVER YOUR OWN VESSEL, GANON. WHY WOULD IT BE ONE NOW.”

“Calm down, if you burn me now, you might lose me forever,” Ganon replied calmly.

The demon subsided somewhat, clenching his fists and pacing until the fire came to a slower burn.

“He is not truly my vessel. I lived so long in this world, the chain of Gerudos bearing the triforce of power was broken for thousands of years. I would have to force my way in.”

“Perhaps you speak too soon, perhaps force has nothing to do with it. BOY-” Demise exclaimed, pointing at Gil.

Gil felt the heat from Demise turn in his direction. He sat up from the desk, no longer bothering to fake sleep. Demise grasped the other side of the desk, which started smoking at his hands. He smiled at Gil.

“You are a very lucky Gerudo. How would you like to become the most powerful man in all the land? To have anything your heart desires?”

Gil blinked a few times. For all that he should feel terrified, he was mostly just annoyed.

“I have no desire to be the most powerful man in all the land, I just want to learn. As that is what my heart desires, and it is fulfilled in this library, you have nothing to offer me.”

The flames grew again to the ceiling as Demise growled and clenched the table, but Gil did not turn away. From the corner, Ganon laughed.

“You always underestimate us, demon.”

Demise turned, still flaming and picked up Ganon by his shirt. He leaned in to his face, smiling terribly.

“No Dragmire, you underestimate me.”

Demise said a thunderous word in a language beyond Gil’s ability to process, and everything in the room began to fly. At the center of the tornado, the demon held the fractured soul. They both began to glow from the inside as the wind grew faster and faster. When it could get no faster, Demise hurled Ganon, who directly at Gil’s head. Right as they were about to collide…

Gil woke up with a gasp in the library. He was alone in the small room again, though he could see a few fellow night owls through the window of the door. He shook his head as he stood up. 

But, nothing felt different? Perhaps it had been a dream after all?

Then his eyes fell to the other side of the table. Two charcoal handprints marred its surface, and when Gil touched them, they were still warm to the touch. There was no sleeping that night.

And yet, life went on, at least for a little while. It would still take two weeks for news to reach the Grand Library, not because of any flaw of Gazrockian technology, but because the present was of very little concern to anyone cloistered there. When it did, though, Gil’s heart fell into his shoes, because while Link and Zelda’s unprecedented return to life and defeat of Calamity Ganon was the greatest historical event of his lifetime thus far, it also gave credence to the dream from the night after the great blight’s fall.

Gil started to dream of deserts both familiar and so different. Of mothers and sisters, of enemies and fights that had never occurred. One night he realized that he wasn’t sure if the vivid dream of discovering an ancient temple in the desert was his own memory or just a fiction. In the afternoon, he looked in the mirror, and realized he didn’t recognize himself.

He ran to Y’xlli’s office, bursting through the door. The Gazrockian slowly looked up from their stack of documents and sighed.

“I can tell from your expresssion that your time with us has grown short,” Y’xlli said, as they poured a cup of tea for Gil. “Tell me what terrible task has befallen you that will take you from us.”

“It’s not good. The evil spirit Ganon has taken root in my body. I fear that I put you all in danger if I stay.”

“I had my suspicions, you haven’t been yourself lately, scholar.” They licked their eyes, the Gazrockian version of stroking one’s chin. “While the spirit of Ganon is certainly powerful, he was just a man, regardless of over-powered magic skills. You do not believe that remaining neutral, outside of Hyrule, and among scholars would keep this spirit at bay?”

“I am already beginning to forget what memories are mine and what are his. When I have forgotten completely, there is nothing to keep him from bringing us to Hyrule to rage whatever terrible destruction I will at that point think fully deserved.”

Y’xlli stared at Ganon for a beat, their second set of eyelids closing. This familiar action is suddenly so precious to Gil, he almost can’t bear it. Not only to leave his dream, but his mentor as well as his friends in the library…

“Know this then as well, Gil, as it may make the difference that will save that stupid land the Goddesses chose to bless.”

“There are more stories about the holders of the Triforce than have ever reached public memory. In the ones that are remembered, the bearer of Wisdom is a princess, the bearer of Courage is a quiet young man, and the bearer of Power is a great beast who wishes nothing but destruction. But those are not the only stories we have, here in the Library.”

“Hidden away first hand accounts tell of pirates, deku shrubs who hold great swords, powerful monsters who turn away from killing. More than any of that, there are so many accounts during the deep long years of Hyrulean peace of three leaders who join forces to create a safer and more just land. Why those stories have not made it into our lore should be obvious to anyone who has studied the nature of sapient beings: they lack the narrative that satisfies the hero narrative which we all secretly desire for our own lives. Complicated matters such as the true inner lives of historical heroes occasionally make it into our historical documents, but never into the annals of myth, into the hearts of the masses.”

“Wherever your task carries you Gil, remember this: you are not a hero in a myth, nor are you the villain. Or the damsel in distress for that matter. You, Gil, are a unique being in a unique circumstance in a unique moment in time. Forget about fate, forget about history, or at least perceived history, forget about what you think is your doom. There is nothing that can tell you how this will turn out, so your only option is this.”

Y’xlli slammed their palms on the table.

“Flip the narrative.”


	18. Desalination

“Let me look into your eyes.” Zelda asked.

Gil leaned down and Zelda brought their faces close. She stared into Gil’s pupils with an unnerving intensity. Link thought light began to shine from Zelda’s eyes, but she wasn’t sure.

Unblinking, she said, “I see you both. The bonding that Demise forced between your souls can’t be undone without a higher power, but I can build a wall in between. You would have your memories and control of your body… for the most part.”

Zelda finally blinked, and turned to look at the evening sunset. It was a showcase of pink and orange, unmarred by the smoke and ember that polluted it for years.

“I think that the blood moons will continue, for a time.”

“No!” Link cried suddenly clammy. She could never remember what part of the Blood Moon cycle she was in until she fell, paralyzed in the middle of the night or worse in the middle of a fight. 

Gil cocked his head thoughtfully, asking, “Why would that be? I thought that the Blood Moon was exclusively tied to the Calamity. I’ve never read about it in any ancient accounts during a Triforce-level event.”

Zelda sighed. “I wish it was true. As far as I can tell though, the Blood Moon is a natural reaction to the Calamity. The land held back constant rejuvenation of monsters, only letting releasing the power during that one night. If what I sense is correct, there are still at least a year of Blood Moons stored in the land.”

Gil grabbed her hands, eyes gleaming, “Really? How do you know that? Oooooooooh! I have it! Do Hylian princesses have some sort of instinctual instinct towards the land? Maybe you can sense it in some way, or speak with it? I’ve never heard of this before, or seen any accounts!”

Zelda was startled by Gil’s intensity but recovered quickly.

“I guess, it’s more like there’s a giant meter that I can visualize if I focus right. And we’ll see if I’m proven right at the next blood moon tomorrow night because if I place separation between the two souls living in your body, Ganon will certainly control it during the Blood Moon.”

Link and Gil gasped simultaneously, then looked at each other, scandalized. Of any two people who shouldn’t be intimidated by Ganon…

“We need to make the blockade quickly then,” Gill said. “I’d much rather be chained up for one night I can’t remember, than to slowly forget who I am and, by the way, turn into the incarnation of evil.”

“I mean, maybe it’s really just linguistics, but Demise is the one who is truly evil.” Zelda said. “I personally think Ganon’s just an idiot who got in over his head.”

“A thousand years over his head?” Link said bemusedly.

Zelda waved her hands dismissively. 

“Just because someone’s old doesn’t mean they’re not an idiot,” she said.

Link laughed, “As evidenced by this hundred year old Hylians right here!”

Zelda glared at Link, who was rolling on the wall laughing at her own joke. Gil awkwardly chuckled a little, rubbing his arm.

“Ha, you’re funny Hero. Anyway, let’s get that barrier up,” Zelda said cracking her knuckles. “Do you meditate Gil?”

He nodded his head.

“That makes this significantly easier. Link, we’re going to sit here and appear to do nothing for a few hours. Feel free to do whatever you want but maybe stay close just in case we get attacked by Octoroks or something.”

Link saluted. “Reporting for Octorok watching duty, SIR!”

Zelda threw a rock at Link who batted it away with her shield. The rock twinkled on the horizon before falling far out of view. Zelda winked at the still awkward Gil.

“Are you two always like this?” Gil asked as he settled into a comfortable sitting position.

Zelda and Link turned in unison, saying “Yes!” with matching discomforting smiles.

\------------  
As the hours of meditation went on, Link grew more nervous as she thought about the Blood Moon. Especially sitting up in Hyrule Castle, which had so recently oozed monsters. Would she suddenly find herself surrounded? Where had that Lynel been posted anyways?

Link sighed. She was a creature of action, and this was why. Somehow she always worried into a spiral when she wasn’t moving.

Out in the distance, something started over the hill. Link casually picked up her bow, but then dropped it to wave Beedle over to where the trio was. His presence was a welcome distraction.

“So we’re just waiting for them to get done… with whatever that is?” Beedle asked, sitting next to Link and stretching hugely.

Link sighed, then suddenly jumped up and started rummaging through her pack.

“Uhm, you alright there?” Beedle mumbled as meat, arrows, and legendary weapons of yore piled around the feverish hero.

“We don’t have to wait!” Link said triumphantly pulling her head out of the bag.

Beedle caught a Zora Spear from the air out of instinct. He looked at it in horror.

“We can train!” Link said, grinning manically.

\---------------  
A brief argument later, Beedle stood with a boat oar in hand facing off against Link with a tree branch, amber earrings, and her soldier’s armor and greaves.

“I still think you should wear that helmet,” Beedle said, grimacing at the boat oar.

“All the Flamebreaker would do is make me sweat more. You aren’t going to hurt me Beedle, it’s a boat oar and we’re just training.” Link sighed. 

“You promise?” Beedle said.

“I do. Why do you have this huge aversion to weapons anyway?”

Beedle looked at the ground. “I mean… I just do. Yeah? But I’ll try.”

Link grinned. 

“Yeeeessssssssss,” She growled, fighting spirit returning.

“Okay, but not if you’re a bloodthirsty creep!!!” Beedle yelled.

“C’mon Beedle! Move your hands to the grip I showed you, and try to hit me!” Link growled again, full intensity.

“Okay, okay...” Beedle muttered to himself, “Stance is low, feet are wide, uuummm… shoulders are down, right hand over left, about a hand apart…”

Link waited patiently.

From behind Link, she heard footsteps and Zelda calling her name. She started to turn as-

“KIYAH!” screamed Beedle, leaping in the air. He hit Link in the back with the boat oar, and Link fell to the ground with a “whumph.”

“OH NO!” Beedle cried as Link got back up, “I hurt you! You said I wouldn’t, but I did and I just can’t do this you know and…”

Link gripped Beedle’s shoulders, bringing him close. A terrifying grin split her face.

“That. Was. AMAZING.” She breathed, emphatically. “Catching me while I’m distracted with an unbalancing blow to the back? You’re an absolute natural weapon fighter.”

“No! I hit you when your back was turned!! That’s the most dishonorable thing I could possibly do! I’m a terrible fighter!” Beedle cried, clutching Link’s cheeks.

“What are you talking about, I do that shit all the time! If your opponent gets distracted that’s their problem!” Link laughed, pulling away. “Beedle, your first attack ever with a spear you felled the Hero of the Wild. That’s pretty much the most badass thing I can think of.”

“Yes but I cheated!!!!!!!” Beedle squealed.

From across the hill, Zelda was doubled over with laughter and Gil stood stock still, stoic and confused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a hot second since posting! May be a bit more, there are some things happening in the next few chapters that would effect a larger story that I'm thinking of writing, and they haven't completely solidified yet. Thanks as always for reading, comments/kudos give me so much inspiration to keep writing!


	19. To Break a Stone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BACK ON IT! I feel like I have a much better idea of where this crazy train is going. Thanks as always for your comments and kudos, I hope you enjoy this one!

Once the comedy had finished, the group began preparing for the Blood Moon. Link made a meal of protective food, full of amaranth and iron shrooms, Beedle told as many light hearted stories as he could think of, and Zelda laughed good naturedly.

Gill asked to be tied to the tree.

“Whatever happens tonight, I don’t want my body to be used for evil. I assume you have a magic shield, Zelda, but I’d prefer not to take any chances.”

Zelda frowned, but nodded.

They found iron chains as well as a rusty sword to tie them to in the grass. Gil didn’t flinch at all as they wound the metal around his torso, pinning his arms. He continued talking to Zelda in low tone through the whole process.

Link and Beedle sat on the grass once the work was done, watching the sun set. Beedle rubbed his arm nervously.

“There’s just something very wrong about tying a Gerudo man up,” Beedle whispered to Link as the last rays of sun hid themselves under the horizon. “Like, it feels elementally racist.”

As Link turned to answer, a guttural growl came from the tree. They looked over to where Gil, or at least Gil’s body had ripped the iron chains apart.

“Tied to a tree? You of all people should know better, princess.” said a voice, very unlike Gil’s own, from his body. Link gulped, one hand moving to the Master Sword and the other pushing Beedle behind her.

The Gerudo man threw the chains at Zelda’s feet.

“These chains are absolutely worthless, you didn’t even spell them to hold me, princess. If you choose to perform the blasphemous disrespect of tying a Dragmire to a tree, at least ensure he stays there.” He growled to her face.

Zelda was unfazed.

“Gil, your descendent, asked for the chains. You are inhabiting his body, so I wanted to respect his wishes.” Zelda said even tempered. “As you noticed, however, that there were no spells on the chains, which should tell you where I stand.”

Ganon stared at Zelda for a moment, then threw his head back, laughing to the sky.

“Well then. Sav’saaba Princess Zelda. I was not expecting to meet you again in this incarnation.” Ganon said, teeth glinting in the rising moonlight.

“Sav’saaba Ganondorf Dragmire,” Zelda returned. She gestured to the sky. “Let us sit during this absolutely peachy Blood Moon, and discuss what the hell to do now.”

Again, Ganon laughed, “Glad to see your sarcasm in tact little owl. I should have known that one as yourself would make it out of our ordeal sanity intact.”

“Royalty had nothing to do with it. Stubbornness might have.” Zelda said, smirking.

“Uh, guys, seems like you’re having a really great time bantering, but Link just passed out?” Beedle interrupted, holding up the slumped hero.

Zelda shook her head at Beedle. “She’s fine, just passed out from the Blood Moon,” Zelda said. “If you lay her on the ground, she’ll come to in a moment.”

“She?” Ganon asked. “Is this a new hero, or do I just remember wrong.”

“I think you probably just made an erroneous assumption while turning into a giant boar,” Zelda said and shrugged.

\------

Link woke up to an odd scene. Zelda and definitely-not-Gil were deep in discussion, seemingly friendly, though Zelda’s body language read incredibly nervous to Link. But probably no one else could tell? No chains were anywhere to be seen.

“Thank Goddess, I was wondering if you were going to miss the whole thing,” Beedle said from where he sat next to her on the hill. “They’ve been arguing about the castle for the past ten minutes. I was scared at first but then it got just too mundane.”

Indeed, Zelda and not-Gil were clashing about whether it was worth rebuilding the castle.

“Not only is it tradition, there is no unified Hyrule without Hyrule Castle. Where would you stay to be defended?”

“Unified Hyrule? If there was a truly unified Hyrule, there would be no need for defense. All a castle does is cause division!” Zelda retorted.

Link had gained most of her composure by the time that there was a break in the argument. Beedle helped her up, and walked worriedly behind as she made her way to the two philosophers.

“Hi, I’m Link,” she said, holding out her hand for the Gerudo man.

He grinned ferally, “Sav’saaba Link, though we have met before. I am Ganondorf Dragmire. You do look much different from this set of eyes, Hylian. Were you actually born female in this timeline?

Link blushed, and Beedle rushed in front of her.

“I don’t know how they did it a thousand years ago, but that’s an awful rude question to ask a person,” Beedle snapped, putting himself between Link and Ganondorf.

Ganondorf laughed and threw up his hands. “I mean no disrespect, I am only curious as the incarnation of the hero often looks very similar to Link but is a voe. I am too old to remember much social courtesy, so my apologies hero.”

Link nodded, and Ganondorf turned his attention to Beedle.

“And what an interesting thing to see you here, old soul. I thought you were always a merchant, not an adventurer.”

“Huh?” Beedle asked, stunned. “I mean, I am a merchant, I just wanted to make sure that Link and Zelda were okay, and now we’re here…”

“Hmm… Interesting,” Ganon said, turning away from the group. He clasped his hands behind his back as he looked over Hyrule field. A wind picked up, ruffling the flag on Beedle’s pack. 

Ganondorf stood in silence in the wind for a moment.

“Well, much as I am loathe to admit it, the reason we are here is not because the princess seeks my political counsel. It is because, once again, the demon Demise has attempted to use me to throw Hyrule into eternal chaos.”

“Agreed, Dragmire, that much is clear. What is not clear is whether you would like to participate in that attempt or not,” Zelda said. “While it’s been lovely talking with you this evening, you know as well as I do that I am against Demise until the bitter end. If you plan to continue being his pawn and puppet, I will contain you, both within Gill’s mind, and in a magic prison during Blood Moons until we are able to remove you from his body forever.”

There was a beat of silence, until Ganondorf’s shoulders slumped.

“I feel the weight of a thousand years still. It pulls my soul at the seams. In the fraying, I see how precious it is, but also how truly ancient. There is as much chance of it ripping, like a husk carpet in a sandstorm, as Demise using me to claim Hyrule once again.”

He turned, full height, scarlet eyes gleaming in the moonlight.

“I will help you. Though my mind is slow due to my tattered soul, I do remember my previous lives, and have all of their knowledge. In repayment, I would ask you to do something for me. If you, Princess, were able to hold the Calamity at bay for a century, I believe you can honor my request.”

“What is that Dragmire?” Zelda said, her eyes glowing purple as well in the night.

“Seperate my soul from the Demon. I wish to be reincarnated no more.”

Zelda looked green and queasy even in the light of the blood moon.

“You… you wish to die Dragmire?” She said quietly.

“Oh no princess," he said, grinning sickeningly. "I have died more times than you can possibly believe. Often at the hand of a sword wielder in green, but also from sickness, old age and my own stupidity! In a certain way I wish I reincarnated like you two. Fresh, every time, the same power but a different shaped soul!”

“On the other hand, I remember it all by the time I’m the age you are now. That’s what caused me in part to seek out the Calamity. It grew from my despair, at the despair of continually living, dying and… continuing despite it all.”

“Then what do you want?” Link asked.

“I want to go to the Land of the Dead. In elevating me beyond all others, Demise also denied me the natural progression of any mortal.”

“So you want to die… and then stay dead.” Link said.

“Ha! Glad to see you are just as eloquent as usual, Hero,” Ganon said, almost affectionately. Then he cocked his head.

“Hmmm. What is the name of my offspring whom I am sharing a body with?” he said after a moment.

“Gil,” chorused the Hylians.

“Stop that, it’s undignified.” Ganon admonished, head still tilted. 

After a moment he spoke again.

“My offspring believes he knows how this can be done.”


	20. Stories of Ice and Fire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I spent a long time not sure where things were going to go next in this story. And then I sat down and suddenly this thing wrote itself. Hoping you like my OC mini-boss-ish character as much as I do. Cause I like them A LOT.

“I don’t mean this as a critique but I don’t think that ‘research’ counts as knowing how to do something, Gil,” Zelda said the next morning in between bites of Link’s fried egg and rice bowl.

“It does if you know exactly the book you need!” Gil replied. “I’m guessing there’s probably a Bokoblin dictionary in the chamber as well.”

The night before, Gil remembered an ancient book of spells that he hadn’t read first at the grand library, but in the shadows of Gerudo Town. It was an ancient book, certainly older than the town, which had all sorts of magic that Gil had never heard of before or since.

When he had acquired the book, he sat near the fountain in the heat of midday, but as Gil read, a chill came over him. The magic in this book… was almost intoxicating in its violence. The writing began as a journal of a Gerudo elder, or maybe two writing together? Tucked in among the trials and minutiae of tribe life were spell recipes. They were innocuous enough at first- a strength enhancer, a sun lotion, and a love potion that sounded more like an aphrodisiac from Gil’s herb knowledge- but as the journal continued, the spells changed. The elder spent more and more time somewhere called the Spirit Temple, and her writing became more... morally questionable. Spells to turn common items into possessed weapons, summoning diagrams, and vague blueprints on how to make something that she called an ‘Iron Knuckle.’ There were a lot of terms he didn’t know in that section.  
The relevant passage was just beyond this first draft.

With a certain dread, Gil remembered reading, “We cannot help but wonder at this point if the boy is immortal. For this eventuality, we built a spell to send a soul directly to the Realm of the Dead…”

Before he could read on though, a furious Bularia tumbled towards him.

“There you are! And with that godforsaken book! You know that everything in the royal collection has an alarm, right? That doesn’t turn off unless the item is returned or the chieftess turns it off?”

Gil grimaces. Chieftess Tibor was traveling this week. That was part of why he’d taken the book.

“Do you know where the alarm goes off Gil? Any idea at all?”

Bularia leaned down, over the sitting Gil, scowling. At this point, Gil was already taller and potentially stronger than her, but he certainly knew who would win this fight.

“My. Quarters. Gil. I certainly was having a lovely time taking my midday nap until that damned thing started.”

Gil held his hands up, “I truly had no idea Bularia.”

Her scowl deepened, but she stood back up rolling her eyes.

“I actually believe that actually Gil. You should know that there’s obviously an alarm for the most powerful items in the Gerudo kingdom, but that’s the thing. It seems like you never know what you should, just a damn lot about everything else.”

Gil stood up, hands still extended in submission. “I’ll return it right now, you can even finish your nap. It won’t happen again.”

And it didn’t. In a certain way, Gil was glad he had the book taken away. Something about it made him feel ill. The power that the writer seemed to bear without regard to what was right or wrong…

The barrier that Zelda had put in between Gil and Ganon’s souls had manifested as a study in Gil’s brain. It bore a striking resemblance to the Grand Library. Ganon surveyed the environment, as he came to consult Gil.

“Certainly your idea of cozy, not mine,” Ganon said. “Tell me more about this book.”

Gil found he was able to directly share the memory, but Ganon balked once it had passed.

“While that does seem easier, child, it will begin to blend our souls if we share memories directly, barrier or no. Only do that again if you cannot explain something with words.”

“Fine,” Gil sighed, leaning back into a shaggy armchair. “I guess it’s back to Gerudo town to find that book then.”

“Not necessarily,” Ganon replied. “Do you remember who wrote it?”

Gil thought back.

“The cover was mostly this sort of fire and ice motif, though I do remember two K’s being mixed in.”

Ganon laughed loud and feral, throwing his head back. Gil shifted uncomfortably.

“Well, they will be spinning in their grave. Maybe even more than usual.” Ganon snarled once he finished laughing. “I know what it is. There is a second journal. I imagine it is almost exactly the same and it is here in the castle. It’s in a hidden place that doesn't have the good sense to rot away. Sounds familiar.”

As he spoke, Ganon grabbed a random quill from one of the desks in the room. It turned to flames, then to ash, then to dust. Ganon chuckled darkly and left the room, cape flapping behind him.

Gil would be so happy once this blood moon was over. 

\---

“Ganon can lead us there, we’ve got a system set up,” Gil said in the present, cheerful and well-rested, unlike the rest of the party.

“Well, it sounds like you have a fun day of light reading ahead,” Beedle said, stretching and standing, “It’s probably about time I was on my way. Don’t give me that face, Link.”

Beedle shouldered his pack and stood to look at his path leading through...

A Hyrule Field completely full of enemies. Even the Hinox had been reanimated, snoring loudly among the rolling hills.

“On the other hand, spooky books in spooky hidden chambers in a spooky abandoned castle sounds kind of interesting!” Beedle said, bumping Link’s shoulder as he sat back down.

Ganon lead them back to the library, speaking to Gil to navigate. That communication broke down momentarily as Gil could not be asked to just walk through a library.

“I can’t believe some of these first editions! Ralon’s “Cucco Husbandry for Saps” only exists as an excerpted translation in the Grand Library,” He said, hefting a truly enormous tome up for the others to see. “Rt’lach would be so excited to see this, their life work involves cucco cultivation of that era…”

Once they had put quite a few books in Gil’s pack, they ventured to the very back of the library, where the light from the windows no longer reached.

“Do you have a weapon that glows or anything, Link?” Gil asked. “We’re looking for three books that don’t cast shadows.”

The guardian ax Link held above them dimly illuminated three books that weren’t really there. Zelda reached her hand through them to press a switch. The bookcases swung backward revealing a stone hallway. Torches burst to life in a green light along the hallway, casting everything in a sickly hue.

They all moved cautiously down the hall. Link and Zelda walked together, master sword drawn and hands glowing with potential magic. Nothing threatened them as they slowly made their way to the room beyond. 

Here was another library, this one cast in piercing blue light. The ceiling was full of frozen keese and luminous stone, their blue glow filling the room.

“According to Ganon, they won’t attack unless we try to remove the stones,” Gil said, shivering in the sudden coldness.

They got to work, though Link didn’t feel like much help. Most of the books seemed to be written in other languages or had strange bindings. She stepped back when a book that seemed to have painted eyes blinked at her. She continued on quickly when it winked.

Zelda and Gil seemed to be in their elements, quickly assessing the sections and finding the Bokoblin dictionary in no time.

“Half of this is in Old Zora, which I’m certainly not fluent in,” Gil admitted. He looked at Zelda.

“I can sort of suss it out by ear, but I’ve never been able to read it,” she said. “I’m sure that we could bring it to Muzu if he is still living.”

“As if that old fish will ever die,” Link said, rolling her eyes.

“Pretty sure Hylians can’t say that Link, even if you are practically Zora.” Zelda said distractedly as she poured through the book. 

The spellbook was less easy to find. Ganon again gave them its location. 

“He says it’s calling to him,” Gil explained, teeth chattering.

They walked further into the stacks of books. On the wall, there was a strange mask bolted down behind a thick glass. Link walked closer, there was something so familiar about it. When she moved to touch the glass, Beedle gently pulled her hand back.

“I’m out of my element here, but I know evil when I see it,” he said, taking her hand and gently bringing her back.

Link still wanted to get a closer look but was far too distracted by the place where their hands met.

The book ended up being on a tiny set of shelves near the back. The cold was almost unbearable here. Their breath seemed to freeze once it had left their mouths. Gil was shivering uncontrollably.

But there it was, an unassuming little book among many other unassuming little books. K. K. was written in gold and blue on the spine, flourishing into glowing veins of what looked like fire and ice.

“He says to be careful to only touch the book by K. K. Some of the others may be cursed.” 

Zelda ended up carefully nudging the book out of its slot. Once she had taken it, the bookshelf faded away. Link could have sworn she heard a woman laughing quietly, but then it was gone.

“It is absolutely time to go,” Zelda said cheerfully.

They made their way through the library, past the mask, past the books with eyes, and almost into the hallway before blue flames sprung up before them, nearly singing Link’s bangs.

“MY APOLOGIES PATRONS, BUT AS THIS IS A LIBRARY YOU ARE REQUIRED TO CHECK OUT BOOKS BEFORE LEAVING.” A voice like glass filled the air as a fiery specter blew to life at what now appeared to be a checkout desk.

It had a blue tail of flame beneath a black and silver cloak, lined with a pale blue around the collars and hood. Two piercing red eyes stood in its inscrutable void face framed by tortoiseshell cat eyeglasses.

“THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION TODAY. I AM THE LIBRARIAN. IF YOU WOULD PLEASE PUT YOUR ITEMS ON THE DESK,” the being ground. Link felt like her ears were bleeding.

Zelda put the books on the desk and lept back as an enormous metal stamp fell from the ceiling, placing a firey mark on one book then the other. 

“AH YES! BOTH ARE INTERESTING READS. A FINE CHOICE IN LITERATURE BY AN OBVIOUSLY WELL READ PARTY.”

The eyes closed in appeared mirth, and starkly white teeth appeared in what appeared to be a smile under them. Link scoured her memory to see if she had ever seen anything so horrible in her life.

“ENJOY YOUR READING AND REMEMBER, WHILE WE DO NOT HAVE DUE DATES AT THE SECRET ARCANE LIBRARY OF HYRULE, YOU WILL BE KILLED IMMEDIATELY IF YOU EVER RETURN AGAIN WITHOUT THESE BOOKS.”

“HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY,” the librarian said, smiling again as the door flames turned into a screeching gust of wind. They found themselves tumbling in the arctic wind through the hallway and back into the dusty light of evening in the normal library. The bookcase slammed shut behind them.

No one was able to speak or move for a minute. Gil broke the silence.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever been so terrified in my whole life, but honestly, demon librarian? Major afterlife goals.”


End file.
